Blue Light
by BlazingLegend
Summary: Bella falls ill. Emma returns, but returns scarred. The crystals glow. Will has strange dreams, that start to scare him. Cleo is hurt in more than one way. Rikki hears a voice. And a mysterious note shows up on Cleo's doorstep. These secrets are all kept secrets for a time... but how long is too long?
1. Chapter 1: Birthday Gone Wrong

**I do not own H2O: Just Add Water**

* * *

"Rikki, happy birthday!" An excited blond screamed.

"Bella, I told you I don't _want _a birthday party!" Rikki pouted.

"Too bad!" Cleo grabbed Rikki by the arm and pulled her, while she resisted.

"Resistance is futile." Bella put on a low scary voice and a weird evil laugh.

"Zane, tell them I don't want a party!" Rikki called for Zane. He comes running, then smiled wickedly at his girlfriend.

"I should have known you were in on this!" Rikki buried her face in one hand, since the other was kind of being pulled off by Cleo.

"I _will_ burn all of you after this!" Rikki threatened.

"Ooh, we're so scared!" Cleo teased. Rikki positioned her hand and Cleo shut up. Still dragging Rikki, though.

"STOP IT!" Rikki yelled. This outburst was so loud that it made Zane, Bella and Cleo stop in their tracks. Cleo loosened her grip on Rikki's arm. Rikki took her chance, and claimed back her arm.

"Now, you all are going to STOP this nonsense and let me spend the rest of my day birthday-free." Rikki rubbed her arm then glared at the three surrounding her.

"Fine, just meet us at Mako later, we need to talk." Cleo huffed.

"Fine. What about?" Rikki narrowed her eyes, suspecting a trick.

"Something we can't talk about in the open. Rikki, this is really important." Cleo begged.

"Yes. Fine, whatever." Rikki said before storming off. After Rikki was well out of sight, Cleo and Bella high-fived.

"She _is _going to have a birthday." Bella smiled evilly.

"Definitely. Even if we have to drag her off screaming." Cleo's eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Which is practically what we just did." Zane added.

"Don't you have a café to run? Rikki will probably burn the drinks and customers in this state." Cleo tried to make Zane go away. Zane's eyes widened and he dashed away, kicking up dirt.

"I've never seen Zane run so fast." Bella laughed.

"Only when he knows his mermaid girlfriend is angry and she has burned everything in her path before." Cleo smiled.

"Do you want to go to Mako?" Bella questioned, tying her hair up in a ponytail.

Cleo nodded. "Sure." And with that, the two jumped into the water, café in the distance.

* * *

When the two girls surfaced at Mako, they talked a little about what's been happening recently. Then they go onto a topic, that even they don't know how they got on.

"Pear." Bella started.

"Banana." Cleo added.

"Orange."

"Strawberry!"

"Mango!"

"Passionfruit!"

"Grapefruit!"

"Tomato!"

"Tomato isn't a fruit!" Bella protested incredulously.

"It's been scientifically proven to be!" Cleo argued, crossing her arms.

"Really?" Bella asked in disbelief.

"Yep." Cleo answered with an air of triumph.

"Oh. Sorry." Bella apologised.

"It's fine. That game always ended badly." Cleo shrugged, remembering previous times when this game didn't go so well. Bella laughed at her comment. They soon started splashing each other, as they didn't have much to do.

"Bella, stop it!" Cleo squealed playfully.

"Not a chance." Bella smiled, splashing another lot of water on Cleo.

"No, really. Are you hungry, Bella?" Cleo questioned, after hearing her own tummy growl.

"Yeah, I guess I am a little hungry." Bella answered. Then Bella's tummy grumbled as well, and they both started laughing.

"You're definitely hungry." Cleo muttered in between giggles.

"I am. Let's go to the café." Bella suggested, after their laughing fit.

"Well, we need to check that Rikki hasn't scorched the place, anyway." Cleo began to swim out of the Moon Pool. Bella quickly followed her, and they made their way back to Rikki's café. After they had dried themselves, of course.

"Rikki!" They called. Rikki walked up to them and smiled.

"Yeah?"

"Oh, just wanted to see that you hadn't torched the building." Bella and Cleo smiled.

"Of course I haven't! Though that _is_ a tempting idea..." She trailed off, tapping her finger against her chin. Bella and Cleo's expressions changed from happy, to shocked and fearful.

"Of course I would never burn the café! You should see your faces!" Rikki laughed, then Bella lightly punched her in the arm.

"Well, do you want anything?" Rikki questioned.

"Um, could I have a Cranberry Booster?" Cleo asked, hoping to satisfy her hunger, even though drinks weren't that filling.

"Sure. Bella, what do you want?" Rikki turned to Bella, tapping her pen against her order booklet.

"I'll have the same as Cleo, please." Bella added to the order.

"Sure thing guys. I'll have someone bring them for you." Rikki walked away to the blender and tips her ingredients in.

"Hey, I'm gonna go sit outside, want to join me?" Cleo asked Bella, who was standing next to her. Bella nodded eagerly, wanting to feel the sun on her skin.

"Rikki, we'll be outside!" Cleo notified the girl making their drinks. Rikki nodded and resumed her work. After a couple of minutes, Sophie brang out Cleo and Bella's drinks. But unfortunately, it accidentally tipped all down Cleo's front.

"Oh, Cleo, I'm sorry!" The girl exclaimed, her eyes not containing any regret or remorse. Cleo ignored her, trying to think of a way not to get exposed in public. Unfortunately, Cleo's brain was a little slow today due to the English project she had spent the previous night working on.

"Cleo, the water, the water!" Bella assisted her friend in a split second. Cleo's brain clicked, and she dove into the nearby water. Bella wiped the worried look off her face, and attempted to smile at the red-head in front of her. Sophie frowned; something was not right with those girls. She knew Cleo was afraid of water, Bella and Rikki too. But then why do they jump off the dock fully clothed when even a drop hits them? It didn't add up. They had a secret, one which she would figure out.

"I'm sorry..." She lied through clenched teeth.

"It's fine, she just..." Bella trailed off.

Oh boy, how was she going to get out of this one.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cleo was swimming to the Moon Pool, her heart beating furiously at the close call.

She glanced at the oncoming entrance before entering her beloved moon pool. A little while later, Bella came up from the water, to see if Cleo was okay.

"Hey Cleo!" She greeted Cleo cheerfully.

"Hiya, Bella. Thanks for what you did back there. You saved me, I owe you one."

"Hey, it's fine. That's what friends are for!" Bella beamed a big smile. Cleo smiled back at her.

_How did I get such good friends?_ Cleo thought.

"Race you back to land!" Bella interrupted her thoughts and quickly headed underwater.

"Hey, no fair!" Cleo protested, laughing. She quickly departed and chased after Bella. As soon as Cleo exited the Moon Pool, she received a splash of bubbles in her face. Then she saw Bella speedily making her way back to shore.

Oh no, she's not winning again. Cleo hastily swam after Bella. After they had dried themselves at land, Bella retreated into silence after Cleo had come out victorious.

"I won! Yes! Don't worry Bella, you came a close second." Cleo consoled her friend.

"I still don't know how you did that." Bella muttered, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Come on, Bella! What do you want to do?" Cleo asked. Bella's face lit up.

"Let's get Rikki and just spend some time together at Mako." Bella ran away from the brunette beside her. Cleo shot her a smile before dashing after her, close on her tail. "But didn't we just come from Mako?" She questioned.

"Oh well. It'll be better with Rikki there!" They raced down to Rikki's café to see none other than Rikki leaning on a counter, sipping a drink.

"Rikki! You want to go to Mako?" Bella suggested with a bright smile on her face. Bella surprised Rikki so much that she nearly spilt her drink.

"Bella, watch it!' She exclaimed, reclaiming her firm grip on the glass.

"Ugh, hurry up, Rikki! Don't you want to hang out with your best friends?_._" Bella ordered, becoming impatient, but was smiling.

"If it has nothing to do with birthdays, I'm in. Just let me finish this." Rikki took a sip from her drink.

"No birthday whatsoever! Now, stop stalling!" Bella grabbed Rikki's hand and tugged, making Rikki abruptly drop her drink on the counter. Bella pulled her friends outside. Then she jumped into the nearby water, followed by Cleo and Rikki. Bella went as fast as she could, while Cleo and Rikki lagged behind, admiring the coral and fish. Rikki gave Cleo a look that said that they should probably join Bella before she got too bored. Cleo smiled and they both started to swim in the direction of the moon pool.

"Finally, I was waiting!" Bella huffed, when she saw her friend's heads pop out from under the water.

"Well, SOME of us like to look at things while we're swimming." Rikki flashed a short glare at Bella.

"Now, what would you like to talk about?" Cleo asked with a warm smile. Bella looked confused.

"I-I-I don't know..." She stammered.

"Bella, are you feeling alright?" Rikki swam up to her friend and pressed her hand against Bella's forehead, checking for any trace of fever.

"Cleo, she's burning up!"

* * *

**So, did you like it? If so, please review, or PM. Sorry, I know it might have been a little short.**

**I accept criticism on how I can make it better; I don't accept criticism that was put there just because a person felt like being mean. If there is missing punctuation or bad spelling in there, please tell me and I will fix it. If you want longer or shorter chapters, please tell me.**

**Thanks for reading, and remember to review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Collision

**I just want to clarify something. Will and Bella are NOT dating.**

* * *

_Cleo's P.O.V_

"Bella!" I cried as I woke up. It was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream. But I need to get to Bella! I tossed up the covers and looked at my clock. 5:27 it shone in the darkness. It's early, but I don't care. I want to go help her. Ever since she got that fever at the Moon Pool...

_Flashback_

"Cleo, she's burning up!" Rikki exclaimed, worry making its way across her face.

"What's _happening?_" I screamed, panicking.

"Get her on the sand!" Rikki ordered. I got myself up on the sand, Rikki dried me off, I took Bella's hands and tried to heave her up.

"Rikki, grab her tail!" I shrieked. Rikki slid her arms around Bella's tail and helped me lift her onto the sand. I helped Rikki out of the water and she dried herself.

"What do we do?" I asked, leaning down and pressing my hand to Bella's forehead.

"Call Will."

"What? Okay." I reached into the pocket of Bella's shorts and pulled out her cellphone. I looked up Will's number and called him. One ring, two rings, three rings...

"Hey Bella!" Will greeted, seeing the Caller ID.

"It's not Bella. This is Cleo. We need your help! Something's happened at the Moon Pool. Come quickly, I'll explain later." I hung up the phone.

"Bella, please wake up!" I begged. No response, Bella began to shiver.

"Will, hurry up!" Rikki yelled, as if expecting him to hear. We soon heard a boat engine outside the cave, then the boat colliding with sand.

Rikki and I lifted Bella up on a simultaneous thought, and waited for Will to make his appearance. Soon, Will came through, worried.

"We need to get her on your boat!" Rikki called to Will, who was at the other side of the cave. Will took Bella out of our arms and carried her himself. Heroic much.

We soon got to his boat and sped back to mainland. My house was closest, so we burst through and lay Bella on the couch. No one was home, luckily.

"Will, in the top shelf of the cupboard there will be a first aid kit." I called to him. He understood and quickly got it. We found found some pills that are supposed to calm down fevers, opened Bella's mouth, and made her swallow them, despite the obvious handicap of being unconscious.

"Cleo, is it okay if Bella stays here? I think it would be best for her not to go home." Rikki suggested.

"No, I really think she has to go home." Will protested.

"Think about it, Will. She is a _mermaid_, her parents will take her to the doctors. They will take blood tests, and that will be the end of us." Rikki glared back at him, thinking about the secret.

"She's right. She can stay here; Sam, Dad and Kim are out somewhere for a while. But what are we going to tell her parents?" I asked.

"We'll tell them that she's doing a school project that we got assigned to do over the holidays and we all have to be together for it. That way I can be here too." Rikki answered. It wasn't a very good explanation, but it might work.

"Okay, sounds good." I replied.

"How did it happen?" Will asked, while Rikki tended to Bella.

"I don't know..." I looked up to him. It was obvious he cared for her, it was written all over his face every time he saw her. He looked like he was in agony standing there, watching the colour fade out of her usually tan skin. But I had no answer. I looked back down to my friend, willing her to open her eyes and say she was fine.

"Bella, please get better."

_End of Flashback_

I sat up, dashed out of my door and closed it quietly, since Rikki was in the guest room. I went down the stairs and checked on Bella. She didn't seem to be getting that much better. I gave her some more fever-reducing pills, walked into the kitchen and sat down, burying my face in my hands.

"Cleo?" A quiet whisper came from behind me. I turned around to see Rikki in her pyjamas, the ones with the monkey print on the t-shirt and running all the way down the pants.

"Hey Rikki. Couldn't sleep?" I asked her with a flash of a smile on my face. She nodded and sat down next to me. Rikki put her arm around my shoulder, comforting me in silence.

"Do you want something to eat?" I questioned. She shook her head slowly. I understood, I didn't really feel like eating myself. I stood up and got two glasses of water, putting one down in front of Rikki. I sat down and placed the other one in front of me. I started morphing the water into various, unidentifiable shapes.

"You want a hot chocolate?" I asked.

"That would be nice, actually." Rikki answered, looking at me with an echo of a smile on her face. I put the powder into two mugs, and just as I was about to put the jug on to boil, it started heating up.

"Thanks, Rikki." I murmured. By this time the water was boiled, so I poured it into the two cups and handed one to Rikki. She sat there, gripping the mug and sipping slowly, as I leaned against the bench and drank mine.

"This will all work out." I heard Rikki whisper under her breath. I understood how she was feeling; the same words had raced through my mind as I had lay in bed and tried to believe them.

But that's what we both had to do; try and believe them.

* * *

The next morning I woke up to see the sun sneaking through the curtains. I got up and went downstairs to see Rikki sitting on one of the couches.

"Morning, Cleo." She greeted, smiling weakly.

"Morning." I yawned.

"Want some breakfast?" I walked into the kitchen and flung open the pantry.

"Okay. Watcha got?"

"Um, do you want cereal or toast? Or you could always have fruit." I teased.

"No fruit, thanks." She made a face.

"Can I have toast? Do you have any Vegemite?" Rikki questioned.

"Your wish is my command, Queen of Heat." I mock bowed to her. Rikki laughed, then got up to check on Bella.

"Hey Cleo! I have an idea." Rikki called to me. I walked out to her.

"Maybe if she goes into mermaid form she'll feel better." She shrugged. We both knew it probably wasn't going to work.

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because I'm smarter than you." Rikki said with a wide smile

"Hey!"

"Just hurry up already!" She snapped.

"Okay, okay." Her plan was worth a shot. I picked up a drop of water from the vase on the shelf. It fell on Bella's skin, transforming her into a mermaid. Her fever looked slightly better, but she still didn't wake up.

"Well, it does have an effect." I smiled. Rikki nodded.

"Hey, maybe you should call Lewis. I'm pretty sure this isn't normal. It definitely has to do with mermaids." Rikki said firmly. I get my phone out of my pocket and call him. One ring, two rings, three rings, four rings... Five rings. No answer.

"He's not picking up." I frowned.

"Maybe his phone got disconnected. Or he got a new one." Rikki shrugged.

"No, he'd tell me if that happened. He must be busy, we don't even know what time it is there." I answered, being optimistic.

"You didn't keep up with the time?" Rikki asked in disbelief.

"No, I lost my chart with the American times on it. I'm getting a new one soon." I replied with a shrug.

"Okay then. Well, I'll see what I can do for Bella. You go to work." Rikki ordered. I couldn't believe her! Didn't I need to stay here for Bella?

"But I want to stay here for Bella!" I protested.

"Too bad. You go to your job; I've got someone covering for me at mine."

"But I want to-"

"Cleo, listen to me. Leave. I don't want you to lose your job when there's no need." She snapped harshly. I do wish she would stop talking to me like that... but this is Rikki, I guess. I wouldn't lose my job, would I? I didn't really want to take that chance. I grumbled and stomped up to my bedroom. I heard Rikki chuckling at my performance. Oh who cares what she thinks?

When I was ready I scowled at Rikki and slammed the door shut. I just hoped that Ronnie didn't want to 'play' today. That's usually how I get splashed.

* * *

_Rikki's P.O.V_

Finally she's gone! Thank goodness, I thought she'd never leave. She probably would've been late for work if I didn't get her to leave when she did... anyway, now to call Emma. I pick up my phone and dial her number. One ring, two rings...

"Rikki! Happy Birthday!"

"Hiya, Em!" I replied, smiling. I really did miss talking with her.

"How's everything at your end?" Emma asked.

"Not so good, actually." I answered, frowning.

"Really? What happened?"

"Bella's really sick. And we only have... actually, I don't know how long we have to help her." I replied with a sigh.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. How is she?"

"She has a fever that seems to calm down in mermaid form; she shivers and moans all the time. She hasn't woken up yet. And before she got the fever, she was acting very strange." I explained.

"That doesn't sound very good. Poor Bella. Have you tried the Moon Pool?" Emma questioned, trying to help.

Then it struck me. No, we hadn't. If anything was going to help, it would be coming from Mako. The Moon Pool might actually do something. It had always managed to solve our mermaid dilemmas before.

"No we haven't! Emma, thank you, that might be it!" I exclaimed, getting very excited, almost on the verge of jumping up and down.

"Rikki! Stop. You need to consult with Cleo over this. It might not work. It could make it worse, it could do anything. The Moon Pool might be what caused it. You need to talk to Cleo." Emma ordered. She might be on another continent, but she still knew how to boss me around.

But she might be right about the Moon Pool. I really did need to talk to Cleo, see if it was worth it, see if it was a risk worth taking.

"Fine." I replied bitterly. I wanted to see if it would work _now_.

"Rikki?"

"Yeah?" I asked, trying to sound bored.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the greatest. How are you doing?" I asked, she was my best friend, after all.

"Ugh. Got moonstruck on the last full moon. It sucked. I'm grounded for three weeks! And I can't even remember what I did!" She explained the unfairness of the situation. I knew what she was talking about. Getting moonstruck is like getting amnesia. People talk about what you did, and you don't even remember what happened.

"I know where you're coming from." I laughed.

"I know! It's like getting amnesia!" She exclaimed. Whoa, did she turn into a mind-reader?

"How do you cope?" I blurted out without thinking. I know I wouldn't be able to cope. Being separated from your best friends on another side of the world.

"It feels like being stranded." She said. I knew that from the second I opened my mouth she knew what I meant. "But I swear, talking to you guys is the only thing that keeps me sane." She sighed over the phone. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Sorry Em, got to go, someone's at the door." I got up, ready to hang up the phone.

"Okay, bye. Say hello to Cleo for me and I hope Bella's feeling better soon." She hung up before I had the chance to. I walked over to the door and opened it. There was no one there. I saw a letter on the ground. I opened it cautiously. It only said one word.

HELP. Now that is weird. Did Cleo need help? No, she would have sent me a text message. But what if they took her phone? Wait, Rikki, there's no 'they'. Cleo is fine. But it wouldn't hurt to go check. Well, it could hurt me, but I'd rather they hurt me than Cleo. I don't want to leave Bella. Go, stay, go, stay, go, stay. I have to see if anything's happened to her. If something's happened to Cleo... someone's gonna get hurt. And it won't be me.

I took one last check on Bella, grabbed the spare keys Cleo gave me, ran out the door and locked it behind me. Okay, I know where Cleo works.

I got there after what seemed like an eternity. I ran up to where Ronnie always was and looked around desperately.

No one's there. No! Where is she? She can't be gone!

"Cleo! CLEO!" I screamed, hoping against hope that she would come to me. I heard footsteps.

"Rikki?" A voice asked. I turned around, ready to burn anyone that could have hurt Cleo. I looked at the person.

Cleo. It was _Cleo_. I ran up to her and hugged her with such force, that we both toppled into the water. I felt that familiar tingling in my body as my legs turned into a tail.

"RIKKI!" Cleo screamed, outraged. I didn't care, as long as she was okay. I was still hugging her, even in the water. It was quite uncomfortable because we had tails, not to mention the fact that Cleo was squirming out of my grip, ready to yell at me. I hesitantly let her go.

"Rikki! What were you thinking? People walk past here all the time!" Cleo demanded. I didn't want to tell her about the note, because she would just freak out. What would I say?

"Sorry, I just, I just-"

"We'll have time for that later, we need to dry off." She cut me off harshly. I heaved myself out of the water and dried off quickly, before helping Cleo out of the water and drying her.

"Why did you do that?" Cleo asked, trying to calm down.

I thought for a moment. "Emma says hi,"

"And that's a good enough reason to shove me into the water?" Cleo looked at me as if I had grown a third head.

I shrugged sheepishly. "I know you miss her."

Cleo sighed and tried to smile. "I do miss her." She paused and stared me down. "But please, the next time Emma says hi, just try to tell me a little less dangerously?"

I swallowed. "Okay."

"Good." Cleo paused and looked around. "Well, I need to get back to work. You go home and stay with Bella." She shoved me in that direction. As I walked away I heard her muttering.

"I swear, I don't know what goes on in that girl's head sometimes."

* * *

I got back to Cleo's and leant against the door. I'm so glad she's safe. But, then who sent the note? I didn't have any time to think about it, because I heard Bella moan loudly from where she was on the couch.

"Bella!" I dashed into the living room. She continued to moan. It was getting worse. There's only one thing I could think to do. I gave her some more fever-reducing pills, and then filled the jug full of water and poured it onto Bella.

After her fever had gone down, I dried her off. If somebody came and saw her in mermaid form it would be bad. I lifted Bella's legs up with my hand, then steam-dried the couch. I decided to get a drink, or at least play with my powers. It's funny how I always turn to the mermaid side of things when I'm bored...

Anyway. I opened the door of the fridge and got some cold water out.

When I tried to pour it, I realised it was jelly. My eyes darted back to the fridge and saw that all of the drinks were now jelly. Great, just great. I shoved the jellified water back into the fridge with a frustrated sigh. I walked to Bella and sat on the sofa across from her. How long until we could all go back home?

I don't know how long I had been sitting there, but soon I heard the door slam as Cleo stomped inside. Was she still angry at me?

"Um, Cleo are you okay?" I asked cautiously.

"Ronnie splashed me twice today." She huffed. Cleo wasn't having a spectacular day.

_Cleo's P.O.V_

I shouldn't be taking this out on Rikki, though. She's my guest and she doesn't deserve it.

"So, Rikki, what do you want to do?" I made an effort to put a smile on my face. Rikki looked confused, but then smiled back at me. It's nice to see her smiling again.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" She asked, grinning.

"No horror, please, no horror!" I pleaded, getting down on my knees. She rolled her eyes and laughed at me.

"If I don't get to watch horror, you don't get to watch romance!" She stuck her tongue out at me. I looked up at her for a moment, blinking in the light. Oh, I guess that was fair.

"Well then, what do we watch?" I asked, throwing my hands up in defeat.

"How about… action and comedy?" She asked, tapping her finger against her chin.

"I'm fine with that, just let me go change. I'll be down in 5 minutes." I dashed up the stairs, not bothering to wait for a reply.

_Rikki's P.O.V_

It's nice to get rid of grumpy-face Cleo and have real Cleo back. The nice, caring, funny Cleo.

I went and checked on Bella to pass the time while I waited for Cleo. She kept moaning and was shivering even harder. That's not a good sign.

_Bella's P.O.V_

Everything is dark. What happened to me? I can hear faint murmurs. What's _happening?_ Please tell me I'm not in a hospital. Please tell me I'm not in a hospital.

Wait, is that Rikki? It sounds like Rikki. Where am I? I need to get up, but I can't. I'm so cold. I want to know where I am! Is-is that Cleo's voice? Rikki and Cleo are here? If I'm in a hospital, they wouldn't be here. I would have taken a blood test and we'd all be on an operating table or something. Oh no, am I dead? Are Cleo and Rikki dead? If they are...

_Cleo's P.O.V_

I run back down the stairs to see that Rikki has located the popcorn and is holding a steaming bowl full of it. Ah, Rikki always knows where the junk food is.

"How's Bella doing?" I said as I sat down next to her and grabbed the popcorn off her.

"Hey! Didn't your parents teach you to share?" Mock angry, she snatched it back off me.

"She's fine." She answered me, shovelling a handful of popcorn into her mouth. I undid my ponytail and let my hair go loose. Then there was a knock on the door. Confusion passed over my face before I went to answer it.

It was only Will.

"Hi Will!" I leant against the door frame.

"Hi Cleo. Can I see Bella?" He asked. I looked back to Bella, who was shivering, her hair falling down her face. I nodded to Will and stepped aside to let him in.

_Rikki's P.O.V_

Oh no! I forgot to ask Cleo about the Moon Pool! How could I forget?

"Will, you need to leave. Goodbye." I stood up and shoved him out the door.

"But I only came to see-" He was cut off by the door slamming in his face. I ran back to Cleo, eager about what she'd say about the Moon Pool. She just glared at me.

"I needed to get him out!" I protested.

"Why?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Because I think I know how to fix Bella."

"Will knows about mermaid stuff, whatever it is, he's allowed to hear it."

"I know." I replied, shrugging.

"Okay, then what's your plan?" She questioned, eyes filled with hope.

"Well, if anything's going to help her, it's coming from Mako. I thought that maybe the Moon Pool, or even just it's water could do something?" I explained.

She seemed to think about it.

"We could try. You're right, whatever will help her will probably come from Mako." She nodded at me.

"Well, then let's go!" I exclaimed. She nodded again. It was getting dark, but we didn't want to wait. Anything that might help Bella had to come first. I didn't really want Will's help with this; we could do it on our own.

_Cleo's P.O.V_

We heaved Bella up and carried her between us. We decided to take a boat, and were soon speeding off to Mako Island. When the boat hit the sand, Rikki and I got out, careful not to let the water touch us. We lifted Bella out of the boat and made our way to the Moon Pool entrance. When we got there, we carefully lowered Bella down, then I slid down, Rikki coming shortly after me.

"Come on." I said, climbing up the uneven rocky stairs to the chamber containing the Moon Pool. We got out and lay Bella on the sand.

I clutched the crystal hanging from my neck, hoping that this wouldn't make anything worse. Rikki nodded to me.

We crouched over Bella.

"Okay, get some water out of the pool." Rikki said gently, knowing how nervous I was.

I did as she asked, and soon there was a bluish sphere of water floating toward us.

Our crystals started to glow as the water got closer and closer. I was about to lay the sphere onto Bella, when it touched all of our crystals simultaneously.

Our necklaces, combined with the water sent out a powerful blue spark.

We were unconscious before we hit the ground.


	3. Chapter 3: Questions and Lists

**Just saying, the things that are happening now do tie in with the main part of the story, so they are still very important, they just weren't mentioned in the summary. (Just so you understand everything, I might change Bella and Will's relationship status. For now they aren't together. But I want to make them a couple, so be expecting it.)**

**Also, this story takes place before (Season 3 SPOILER ALERT) Rikki and Zane broke up, but after they all started wearing the crystals. It's close to impossible, I know. Now, on with the story!**

* * *

_Bella's P.O.V_

I woke up on the sandy shore of Mako. How on earth did I get here? My head is pounding. What happened? I get up but see that my body isn't obeying my commands. Was I moonstruck or something? I don't think I've ever been moonstruck before. Its never happened to me. Maybe it doesn't happen anymore. Come on body, work! I was able to get some movement in my arms, so I pushed myself into a sitting position. I looked around. Yep, this is definitely Mako. I'm finally able to get movement in my legs, so I carefully stand. I'm able to stand straight without falling down, so that's great.

I look around again. I see Rikki lying unconscious a good 120 meters away. I started to run to her, while my legs resisted. I don't care, I'm getting to Rikki. I fell down next to her, sand flying around. Her blond hair covered her face. Her black top and red jacket look almost torn. She looked so helpless. I shifted her hair so I could see her face. Her face looked fine. Well, she's still unconscious so I guess 'fine' isn't exactly fine. She's still breathing, but slightly. I tried desperately to wake her up. Nothing. Is she dying? Please, she can't be dying. Cleo and Rikki are all I have.

Cleo. I looked around once more and see Cleo's body lying 140 meters away. Cleo! I couldn't even manage to utter a single word. I ran over and examined her. Her hair was covering her face, coated with sand.

I pull her hair off her face and see that it was unharmed, like Rikki's. What happened to us? I try desperately to wake up Cleo, just like I had with Rikki.

Her eyes open. When she saw me, she screamed and pulled away. Her eyes were blazing with fright, panic and astonishment.

"Cleo? Cleo, it's just me. Bella." I reminded her. She whimpered and continued to back away. Why was Cleo acting like this? Did I do something to her? She stopped backing away, but wouldn't let me closer. She was mumbling.

"Moon Pool… water… Bella… sick… necklace… crystal… light… Mako?" She stopped muttering and looked around. She realised she was on Mako and shifted closer to me.

"Bella?" She asked.

"Yes, it's me. Bella."

Her eyes widened and she hugged me. I gratefully returned it. She pulled away, her eyes filled with panic and fright again. Tears started to fall from her eyes. Before I could wipe them away, she stood up and ran away screaming,

"Rikki!"

I ran after her, my tired body was aching. Cleo collapsed next to Rikki, crying. I just continued to run to her. When I got to her I kneeled and tried to comfort her.

"Cleo? It's okay, Cleo." I patted her back. She took Rikki's hand and continued to cry. I didn't know what was happening. Why were we here? Why were we unconscious? What were those things Cleo was mumbling?

"Rikki, please." Cleo whispered, sobbing. I backed away, feeling like Cleo needed space. I crawled across the sand and fell asleep.

_No P.O.V_

Cleo kept whispering to Rikki, clutching her hand even tighter. Rikki's eyes opened, hearing Cleo's desperate cries. She sat up and looked at Cleo, bewildered.

"What happened?" Was all Rikki asked. Cleo didn't respond, because really, she didn't know. Cleo stood and pulled Rikki up with her. They instantly knew what they had to do. They ran to the water and dived in, the sand washing out of their hair.

They felt that familiar tingling and their legs turned into tails. Everything seemed clearer. Cleo managed to get out of her over-emotional state. They swam around for a bit, not knowing where Bella was. When they pulled themselves onto the sand, they looked around. Rikki was the first to spot Bella.

"She's over there! Don't worry, Cleo, she's just sleeping." Rikki said after seeing Bella's chest move up and down. Cleo nodded slowly.

"So, Cleo, what happened?" Rikki reiterated her question since she hasn't gotten a response previously.

"I don't know. The last thing I remember is getting that water from the Moon Pool." Cleo was finally able to answer, feeling the clutter removed from her mind.

"Well, we better go back home, Bella will want answers." Cleo lifted herself into a sitting position. Rikki nodded and wordlessly started drying Cleo. Cleo got up and stretched. Then she walked over to Bella and shook her. Bella's eyes fluttered open and she was confused for a moment before she saw Rikki jump in the water and Cleo motion to it. She got up with the help of Cleo and dived, well more like fell, into the water. She felt her body strengthen and her mind clear as she hit the water.

They speedily swam back to land, when they got to Cleo's house, Rikki sighed in satisfaction, glad that Bella wasn't sick. Then Rikki and Cleo sat on the couch together, Bella across from them.

"Okay, I want answers." Bella said firmly. Cleo and Rikki looked at each other before nodding.

"Well, you started acting strange on Rikki's birthday, then at the Moon Pool you got an incredibly high fever so we took you here and we've been looking after you for the past couple of days." Cleo explained. Bella looked a bit guilty. She didn't really like people having to look after her. She wanted to be the one helping them, but the last thing she could remember was... jumping up and down and saying Happy Birthday to Rikki. Everything else is hazy.

"Then why did I wake up on Mako?" Bella asked, baffled at the whole story.

"We took you to the Moon Pool, seeing if the water could help you." Cleo looked hesitant, confused and uncomfortable.

"Well, the last thing I remember is blue light." Rikki shrugged, noticing Cleo's unease. Cleo's eyes looked like a spark had been lit in them.

"I was getting the water, and it was about to..." Cleo trailed off in thought. All of a sudden Rikki bolted up.

"The café!" She exclaimed, blond curls flying around. She dashed out and slammed the door. A silence passed between the two as the girls thought deeply about the things that had occured in the past 48 hours.

"Well, Bella, I gotta go. I don't think Rikki is fit to work in this condition, so I'm gonna keep an eye on her. I want you to rest with no objections, you're probably the most damaged out of the three of us." Cleo said, breaking the silence and swiftly headed out the door, leaving Bella alone looking at a ticking clock. Bella covered her face with her hands and let out a long sigh.

* * *

As soon as Cleo closed the door she ran straight for Rikki's, even though she really shouldn't have. She saw Zane at the blender and waved to him. He smiled back. Zane, smiling when Rikki wasn't around, weird. She went to the place Rikki would most likely be. The office. She slowly opened the door and peeked through. She saw Rikki sitting on a couch, her palm pressed to her forehead.

"Rikki, are you okay?" Cleo asked. Rikki noticed that Cleo was in the room and smiled at her.

"I'm fine. It's just..." She trailed off, hesitant of what she was saying.

"Yes?" Cleo urged.

"I was getting visions. Of what happened at the Moon Pool. At least I think that's what it is." She said quietly. Cleo was shocked, but then realised that this might be the key to finding out what happened.

"What did you see?" Cleo cautiously asked, before the pictures came flashing through her own head. She saw what Rikki saw with her own eyes. The water, the necklaces, the spark, the blinding blue light. She gasped as the pictures stopped and a fierce headache replaced them.

"Cleo?" Rikki whispered.

"I saw it." Cleo answered, before closing her eyes slowly. Rikki looked extremely confused, but her eyes widened as she realised what Cleo meant.

_Rikki's P.O.V_

I knew what she meant. She saw the things I saw, if not more. What does this mean? How can the necklaces... do that? How can the water do that? I thought we knew everything we could about the Moon Pool...

I pushed out all of those thoughts and looked at Cleo. She seemed to be in worse condition than me. I saw her slowly sit beside me on the couch.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." She smiled weakly at me.

"Cleo, you've never been a good liar." I leant back on the couch.

"Whatever. Listen, I'm gonna go check on Bella." She stood and headed out defiantly. I followed her, just in case she collapsed or something. It seemed like her health had rapidly deteriorated in the past 5 minutes. Wait did Cleo say something about Bella? Oh no, if she had the flashes she might be even worse than us, she was the one who was sick, after all.

I saw that Cleo had broken into a sprint, so I followed her, even though we both shouldn't be running. I still had a pounding headache, and I'm sure Cleo still had her's but worse. Rikki, just shut up and follow Cleo. Wow, talking to yourself, that's not crazy at all.

We kept running, and we finally reached Cleo's door. We looked at Bella.

Who was on the floor, unconscious.

"Bella!" Cleo screamed. Bella opened her eyes, hearing Cleo's screaming.

"What's happening? What's with all the screaming?" Bella yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"What?" Me and Cleo asked simultaneously.

"Well, you guys barge in here loud enough to wake the dead, so yes, I'm asking why you were screaming." She glared at us.

"So, you're okay?" Cleo asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I was sleeping, like you _ordered_ me to. I must have fallen off the couch." Bella replied, looking around her.

"So you didn't see anything?" I said, walking over to Cleo to try and calm her down. She had expected Bella to be unconscious and whimpering in pain or with a disease or something. I guess she was shocked and relieved, if that causes you to hyperventilate. (Hyperventilation is breathing too fast and hypoventilation is breathing too slow or shallowly.)

"Deep breaths, Cleo. Deep breaths." I assisted Cleo back on a regular breathing cycle.

"So you were just sleeping. You didn't _see_ anything?" I asked, practically forcing Cleo to sit on the couch.

"You mean nightmares? Yeah, I had a nightmare. I don't really know what you mean." Bella resumed her place on the couch across from Cleo.

"Did you see anything that looked like pictures?" Cleo asked, finally calming down.

"Pictures? No. Just nightmares." Bella shrugged.

"Well, then go back to sleep." Rikki somewhat ordered. Bella closed her eyes, then lay back. About 5 seconds later she shot up and let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm never going to be able to get to sleep with you here." She looked up and smiled at me, since I was still standing.

"Then we'll just have to leave." I moved in the direction of the door.

"No! Don't leave!" Bella cried.

"Why? You're sick, you need to rest." I moved closer to the door and further away from Bella.

"Please?"

I let out an angry huff and sat back on the couch. Bella smiled and Cleo was, well... just sitting there.

"Cleo? Hello?" I said, waving my hand in front of her face.

"Huh, what?" She snapped out of her trance. Bella and I looked at each other.

"Well, that was weird." Bella laughed. Cleo and I rolled our eyes at her.

"Rikki, we need to talk." Cleo took my hand and moved towards the staircase. I silently followed her, having a good idea of what Cleo wanted to talk about. We reached Cleo's bedroom, and I looked down at the mattress next to her bed. I had been sleeping in the Setori's guest room, but I wanted to come in here, it was just more comfortable and homely. Plus, I would _never_ say this out loud, but I didn't want to be alone. I'm usually fine with sleeping in other people's houses, and in guest rooms, but still. Wait, she's my best friend, do I _really_ need an excuse?

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked shoving my hands in my pockets. She shot me a you-know-_exactly_-what-I-want-to-talk-about look. Well, more of a glare.

"Well, Rikki, what I was wondering was why did Bella not see what we saw?" Cleo lay back on her bed, hair spread out. I sat on the end of it.

"How do you expect me to know?" I retorted with my usual sarcastic awesomeness.

"I don't. Not really. But a suggestion would be nice."

"Meh, maybe it has something to do with her mermaidy sickness." I replied, shrugging. Me, I was just content with the fact that Bella wasn't sick anymore.

"Maybe it was something to do with the moon?" Cleo sat up and looked at me for confirmation, but the only thing I could do is give her false confirmation, because how in the world would I know?

"It's not like it was close to a full moon or anything... right?" I asked, bouncing on her bed a little bit. Our eyes moved to the calendar Cleo had on the wall. Cleo dashed up to look at it, making me lose balance and topple backwards on the bed, oh well, at least it was a cushy landing. Unlike the floor.

"Nah, full moon in two days. Couldn't be the moon. Could it?" She turned to me, as I shrugged. She sighed. I knew that sigh, it was the you're-no-help sigh. It's hard being help when you don't _know_ anything. But I guess I could make a little more effort.

"Well, lets see what we know about her sickness. Then we'll see about the pictures." I suggested. Her face lit up, I guess she was happy I was helping. Whoop de do.

"We know it ties in with Mako, we know its a mermaid sickness, we know it has to do with necklaces and Moon Pool water, we know it causes fevers and makes you act different, kind of like being moonstruck. But she wasn't moonstruck..." She trailed off, caught in her own thoughts. I don't think we can even get moonstruck anymore. I never knew about that. Well, the tentacle made Cleo flip out, so I guess it was a substitution. But I can't help thinking that there's more to the tentacle. Almost like it wants to communicate with us...

"Rikki! Helloooooo?" Cleo snapped her fingers in front of my face, breaking my trail of thought.

"At least I don't interrupt you when you're thinking..." I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Excuse me? You interrupt me all the time! Or have you forgotten?" Cleo snapped at me. Wow, last year she would never have dreamed of yelling at me. She's grown so much since Emma left. Not that Emma was holding her back or anything.

"Whatever. We should list the things we know about whats happened over the past few days. On _paper_." I clarified, knowing it would get us nowhere if we didn't write them down, because we'd just forget and have to start all over again. Cleo reached under her bed and brought out a pad of paper. Cleo wrote furiously, almost tearing the paper. I looked over her shoulder and saw some of the things she had written down.

• Mako  
• Mermaid sickness  
• Our crystals  
• Blue light  
• Moon Pool water  
• Spark that harms mermaids

Wait, did that spark harm us, or heal us? It cured Bella, but knocked us to the shores of Mako. I don't get it. It rendered us unconscious, but helped Bella. Was it good or bad?

"Cleo? It doesn't necessarily hurt us. It healed Bella, remember?" I tapped her on the shoulder and explained. She looked at me in confusion, then rubbed out the piece of paper and wrote this,

• Spark that can harm or heal mermaids

That sounded about right, but still... we don't know all we could. I'm determined to find out more. Cleo threw the pad across the room with a frustrated sigh.

"Sorry." She muttered under her breath. I looked at her sympathetically. She hadn't had a very good week. She was probably frustrated that Lewis hadn't been in contact recently. Oh well, he'll either have a good excuse or he'll make one up.

"I'm sick of this, lets go downstairs and check on Bella." She sprang off the bed and left the door open for me to follow. I paced after her, knowing Bella was just fine. She's a big girl, she can look after herself. Plus, if she was in big trouble, she'd just scream.

Cleo didn't really check on Bella. She just looked vaguely in her direction and jumped on the couch. I rolled my eyes at Cleo and went to the pantry, me, I could make myself at home anywhere. Even on mars, there, if I got super-hungry-starving I would just eat the cute little marshmallowy Martians. It's all good. After I got something to eat, (Nutella sandwich that was more Nutella than sandwich) I wanted to jump on the couch so I could sit next to Cleo and Bella could lie down, but Cleo was covering the whole couch. So then I threatened to sit on her legs if she didn't move them. (If she didn't I would sit on her kneecaps and we all know that really hurts) and guess what? Her legs magically moved. So I plopped down next to her, munching my sandwich.

"Soooo, what are we doing?" Bella asked, obviously bored. I shrugged, taking another (colossal) bite of my sandwich. Cleo stood up and walked to the door.

"Well, I'm going for a swim. If you want to come, you can." She muttered, shutting the door. Me and Bella looked at each other before running out, calling Cleo's name.

"Hey, wait up!" Bella ran after Cleo.

"Bella! Don't run!" I called after her crossly. Bella just ran up to Cleo and walked beside her, while I ran up and gripped her shoulders, making her jump a bit. I liked doing that.

Cleo always said '_you never run out of ways to startle me, Rikki._' She says that usually while shaking her head. With Emma, it was always, '_you never run out of ways to annoy me, Rikki._' Huh. When I met Emma I thought of her as a neat-freak because every single aspect of her life had to be perfect. Well, she couldn't keep that up for long. When you're a mermaid, perfect just doesn't happen. But she slowly sank into the life that had been thrown at her, even occasionally showing a wild side. I miss Emma. I mean, Bella's awesome, but she's just not Em. I sighed and just kept walking, hoping that we would find some water so I could jump in it. I peered around, looking for that glint of shining water, taking no notice of Cleo and Bella.

Suddenly, there was a scream. A SCREAM. I identified it as Cleo's and looked worriedly at her, hoping that it had been someone else, that I had been wrong.

Cleo was lying on the ground, blood trickling out from a huge cut on her forehead.


	4. Chapter 4: Attack

**I do not own H2O: Just Add Water**

* * *

_Emma's P.O.V_

"MUM!" I screamed, yet again not knowing where a box of my stuff was. It was all so confusing. First, I have to leave my best friends, Cleo and Rikki, then we're traveling the world. We're always all over the place, because sometimes we travel in cars or planes, but when it's boats, that spells Trouble with a capital T. Boats are always so annoying, the one place where I'm surrounded by water, and my family is right there next to me. I have to fear every single little drop of water already and a boat certainly doesn't help. I could get exposed and then the next thing I know I'd be shipped off to a dissecting lab. Ugh. Thinking of labs remind me of Dr. Denman, that stupid evil, monstrous, despicable, whoa if I keep running down this track I'll run out of words in my vocabulary.

Anyway, let's just say that accursed woman is evil. Plain and simple. Though nothing to do with my life is simple. At the moment my life sucks. Utterly. Well, at least we're not in a boat.  
We're staying in a guest house that belongs to one of my dad's business associates. We're only here for a few days, a week or something like that, but, my mum insists on unpacking.

Not that I'm ungrateful, honestly, it's nice to actually have a proper roof over my head, but me and my family are staying right next to a beach and Elliot keeps whining that he wants to swim with me. I always tell him no, but my parents join his side and gang up on me. I swear, my brother can be more annoying than Kim when it comes to swimming. Okay, maybe that is just a _bit _of an exaggeration. No one can be more annoying than Kim. But, he still gets pretty irritating.

"Emma, Emma, Emma!" Elliot ran into my 'room'. Accompanied by my mother. Oh no, it was the why-don't-you-go-for-swim-with-your-sweet-little-brother-and-stop-being-so-mean lecture.

"Emma, can you _please _go on a swim with me?" Elliot pouted, putting on his puppy dog eyes. My mother glared sternly at me.

"No, Elliot. I can't." I replied, not even bothering to say sorry anymore.

"But you used to be top in the swim team back home! Why won't you swim with me? It's not fair!" Elliot whined. I swear, sometimes I think I'll freeze him if he doesn't shut up.

"Go swim with your sweet little brother! Now." My female parent ordered firmly. I sighed and lay back on my bed. Well, it wasn't really my bed. It was a guest bed, but you know what I mean.

"I'm not going." I said simply with a little shrug. Okay, house exploding in 3, 2, 1...

"EMMA GILBERT! YOU GET IN THAT WATER OR YOU'RE GROUNDED FOR THREE MONTHS!" My mother screamed at me. It's not like that would have any impact on me whatsoever. She'd just lock me in my 'room'. I already stay in here or by myself practically 24/7. If I'm not here, I'm in the water. I only really go in the water at midnight, because I can't risk Elliot seeing me. Plus, we're not even staying here for three months. But I guess the punishment would follow me wherever we go.

"I'LL TAKE AWAY YOUR CELLPHONE!" My mum threatened. I crumbled. I knew I couldn't go without my cell phone, because I need to be able to contact Cleo and Rikki. If I couldn't, I'd go insane. And trust me; no one wants to deal with an insane mermaid. I sighed and heaved myself off the bed.

"Fine." I sighed heavily. I continued the sentence in my mind. _Fine, but if I have to go into the water, you're going to be in some serious trouble._

Okay, time to put my 'nice smiley Emma' face on. I smiled sweetly at my little brother, who was punching the air in victory. This is one of the times when Cleo and Rikki being here would help me get that little extra grasp of sanity. Oh well. My mother smiled at me.

"Have a good time." She said with triumph and satisfaction.

"Right." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes and grabbing my brothers hand. We walked out of the door, my brother's cheery mood shining like a beacon, while mine brought clouds and thunderstorms that consistently hovered over my head.

"Thank you, Emma!" He smiled up at me. I softened; maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I could convince him to let me stay out of the water.

"Emma, you gotta watch me dive!" He started skipping, swinging on my hand.

"Sure thing." I smiled, even though it was a little forced. My mood brightened slightly. We waved to my dad, who didn't respond, he was too busy with work stuff. I frowned; my family wasn't as tight as it had been back home. It was as if we were slowly drifting apart. My parents didn't show as much interest in me and Elliot as they used to. Well, I was glad they didn't pay attention to me; it really helped with the whole mermaid thing. But it wasn't really fair on Elliot. Elliot opened the auburn front door, and held it open for me. I laughed lightly and ruffled his blond hair.

Elliot pounded down to the beach, sand flying after his eager footsteps. Unfortunately, most of that sand landed on me. I sighed and flicked my hair over my shoulder, successfully getting most of the sand out. I followed him, not very eager to be at the beach. He splashed out to the water and I refrained from the water droplets, or splash-back as I call it. I tried to sort of sneak away and find a spot on the sand, but ended up wincing because Elliot called after me.

"Emma! Aren't you gonna come in? Mum said you had to!" He whined on the last sentence. I sighed and lay down on the golden sand, trying to tune him out. I soon heard splashing footsteps coming toward me. I propped myself up, readying my legs to run like the wind. Great, my sweet little _dripping wet _brother was standing right in front of me, stray water droplets falling from his bathing suit. I shied away from him, the water holding menacing threats of exposure.

"Come in, Emma!" He bounced slightly on his feet, an obvious sign of eagerness.

"No, Elliot. Sorry. I can't go in the water." I shuffled away from him. In vain, since he moved two steps closer.

"It's fine, Emma. Are you scared of the water? It won't hurt you." He came closer and put his hand out as if he was going to touch me.

"N-no I-I can't g-go in the w-water." I stuttered, wincing as every water drop fell from his small body.

"It's alright, Emma. I'll help you." He came a lot closer to me. He put his arm out and was about to grab my arm...

"I CAN'T GO IN THE WATER!" I screamed, and broke into a sprint just so I could get away from him. I ran far out of his reach. I scrambled up some boulders, my skin scraping as it collided with the rock. I reached the top and sat there, shivering. I looked out to realise that I had run far out of his sight.

I wish I was back with Cleo and Rikki. They would he here with me, not leaving me alone and freezing, hoping for them to magically materialise. They would never leave me alone at a time like this.

I regretted ever saying for them to stop annoying me and go away. I would give anything for them to be here now. I just want to hear Rikki's sarcastic voice or Cleo's laugh. I want to see them just around the corner, reminding me that I never parted with them, that I wasn't by myself. But I was completely and utterly,

Alone.

Emma! Shut up and stop wallowing in loneliness. Maybe I should go back to Elliot. He'll probably be worried out of his little mind. I wonder what he'll do now that he's found out that his big sister is 'scared' of water. Oh well, he may as well keep believing that. It's better than him finding out the truth. I trudged around for a while, and eventually found my way back to where I saw Elliot last.

He was sitting on a towel, sniffling, tears running down his face. I ran to him.

"Hey, hey. It's okay Elliot. I'm here." I hugged him and he cried on my shoulder. Boy, am I glad that tears don't make me transform. And that he was dry.

"I th-thought you w-were g-gone." He choked in between sobs. I clutched him tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Emma."

"It's okay, Elliot. I shouldn't have run off the way I did." I replied.

"How about you go back in the water now. Have fun." I ushered him away. His face lit up and he dashed back out to the waves. Cute. I lay back down on the sand, getting my phone out and trying to call Rikki.

No answer. Meh, she's probably busy. I kept thinking of things she could be doing. She could be working, swimming, or she could have just forgotten her phone, wherever she is. Or she could be with Zane. I used to hate him. So much. I knew him when we were little. He was a stuck-up snobby, jerky rich-boy that all of the girls drooled over. It seemed that Cleo and I were the only girls with sense.

But ever since he'd met Rikki he was different. I mean, sure, sometimes you can see his old self coming out, but Rikki soon puts him in his place.

I tried dialling Cleo's number.

No answer. She's probably doing stuff too. Maybe she's swimming with Rikki.

I heard little splashing footsteps coming towards me. I lazily opened my eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Elliot pleaded.

"I'm sure." I replied.

"Okay!" He exclaimed and dashed back to the waves. I smiled after him. I lay back down on the sand, wishing that I'd brought sunglasses. To ignore the bright blazing sun I sat up again and looked around to see little toddlers collapsing on sandcastles, little boys tipping buckets of sand onto their sister's head, and various other antics.

Next to me, I saw a little boy running from the sea to his mum who was sunbathing on a towel. His little legs flailed, water dripping off him. He huddled up with his mum, claiming that the water was too cold. That's what Elliot used to do when he was little.

Speaking of Elliot, he came running up to me.

"Emma!" He smiled brightly at me. What did he want now? He was coming up every five minutes!

"Yes?" I sighed tiredly.

"Please come in the water with me? I won't annoy you ever again!" He pleaded. I shook my head.

"Then I'll just stay with you." He hurriedly sat down beside me, flicking stray water-droplets on me in the process. I dashed up, looking for somewhere to hide.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Elliot questioned. Either he hadn't noticed the water droplets touch my skin, or he hadn't realised that contact with water would provoke such a wild reaction. But I didn't have time to think about that. I needed to hide. Okay, in the sea. That's my best option. I dashed out to the waves and dived in. I swam further, waiting for that tingling in my legs. When it came I was thankfully far enough away from land so people wouldn't see me.

Poor Elliot will think I've drowned. Well, maybe he shouldn't have got me wet, then. But I can't really blame it on him. I shook my head and put those thoughts to the back of my mind. I started to speed-swim, loving the feeling of bubbles enveloping my body. I looked at all the various coral formations. It was beautiful. I don't usually get to see this because I only come out at night. I continued to swim, mentally sighing in satisfaction.

I waved to all of the fish, playing weird games with them. Like peek-a-boo. I found some long seaweed, poked my head through it and made funny faces at the fish on the other side. I found some dolphins and swam with them. Dolphins were always so understanding. If I was anybody else I would sound crazy. If I was me... I would sound crazy. Well, the people who know about the mermaid me wouldn't think I'm crazy. Hopefully. Cleo wouldn't, she adores fish and stuff like that.

Oh no! Magical rainbow coral! Swim for your life! I do NOT want to get cut by that stupid thing again. I remembered the time where I got some rainbow coral for Cleo's fish tank. I cut myself on it and my scales turned white and I got gills. I craved sea-food, even going to the lengths of eating Cleo's fish food. I also ruined my parent's wedding-anniversary by eating the lobster. And I got a huge headache afterwards.

I hastily swam away from it. I probably looked pretty funny. A mermaid flailing her arms out desperately, trying to get away from a tiny piece of coral. Oh well. It's not like there's cameras anywhere. After I got away from it, I sighed in relief, making bubbles shoot out of my nose.

I decided to speed-swim a little bit more. I made a game of counting all of the fish I could see, which got pretty tiring, because, well, this is the sea, it's FULL of fish. I traced my fingers across the coral, taking in all of the different sizes and colours. Then I began to swim, down, down, down until it looked very black.

I don't know how I was ever content with human swimming.

Wait, what's that sparkly thing down there? I swam down even further, to a shiny thing, half-covered in sand. I picked it up and rubbed the sand off it.

It was a diamond. Wait, no it wasn't. It was a shell, but it sparkled like a diamond. I could see my face in it. I decided to take it home. I bet I could find some use for it.

But, frankly, it was too pretty to put down. It's like it had caught me in a trance. I wonder if it's magical? If it is, what can it do? Oh well, I'll just hang onto it for now. No way am I ready to get out of the water.

I speed-swam, clutching the shell very tightly. I swam in loops, twirls, even sometimes swimming backwards. The only thing that could make this better was if Cleo and Rikki were here. But, there is something about swimming by yourself. I just miss swimming with my friends.

Racing with Rikki was always fun. I always thought I would beat her every time, because I was top swimmer when I had legs, but she has beaten me before. That always kept it interesting. Because we never knew which one of us would win. Cleo always came last, but that was more because she wasn't as competitive as us, and she liked to see all of the fish and coral.

But I also just loved floating in the Moon Pool, talking about whatever. Just floating there lazily, sometimes even playing with our powers. Like, once, Cleo made a little fish water-sculpture, and then I froze it. But just to be naughty and Rikki-like, Rikki melted it.

Cleo and I were mock-angry, and started splashing Rikki, which turned into an all-out splash-war. Which was pretty fun.

I dived really deep again, surrounded by black. It's amazing how long a mermaid can hold her breath. And I'm so glad we don't have any creepy gills. That would be freaky. We'd have to wear out hair out all the time to cover them, that is, if they were on our necks. But they're not, because we don't have any. Which is very good and would save us a lot of awkward moments.

My tail brushed against something. What is it? I turned around, but it was gone. Hmm, must have been a fish or something.

I turned back around and just kept swimming. Something brushed my tail again. Okay, something's up.

I quickly flipped around.

It was gone again! Darn it!

I turned back around and was about to start swimming again...

When I saw it. A shark. Right in front of me. That must have been it.

It came, closer, teeth bared.

But sharks always loved mermaids! They would never hurt us... right?

It came closer, looking like it wanted to take a bite out of me.

I swam for it. It followed me, extremely fast.

Help! Something! Anything!

All I had was myself.

Myself.

That's it!

I froze the shark in a ball so it couldn't get out.

It rammed against it. It cracked a little bit.

It rammed again. It shattered more.

It rammed again. It broke.

It sped right up to me, and grabbed my arm with its teeth. I pulled away and some of my skin was shredded off, exposing blood.

Blood.

Oh no, I'm definitely screwed.

4 more sharks gathered around me, smelling the fresh blood.

I tried to swim up, but all 5 sharks followed me.

I would never make it.

Unless I do something. My arm hurt like heck.

Wait, sharks have a sensitive sense of smell, right? And really bad eyesight?

I knew what I had to do. I'm gonna freeze these sharks on the nose.

I froze two of the sharks, and they whimpered away. 2 down, 3 to go.

I froze 2 more, and they shied away, just like the others had.

One more.

It positioned itself and really looked like it was about to kill me.

It bit on my hand, but I managed to freeze its whole body.

The shark couldn't do anything, so I gently eased my hand out of its mouth, to find it had been spared.

5 fingers and all.

I nursed my hand and quickly swam to the surface. You could understand my desire to get out of there.

But why did they attack me? The only other time sharks have even been _suspected _to hurt or kill mermaids is with Cleo and Gracie. But otherwise, all sea creatures loved mermaids.

Even sharks.

I just don't get it.

Okay, I guess it's time to get out now. How long have I been out here? I found a little secluded bay and heaved myself up, using one hand, which was pretty difficult.

Okay, I started swimming at 12:17 in the afternoon...

No! It's night-time! I better get back!

I can't believe I was out there that long! My parents will kill me!

I hurriedly splashed back in the water and swam back to the beach. It was late so no one was there, thankfully. I pushed myself away from the water and started drying off. It was really risky and I didn't have a towel or Rikki... This is gonna take a while. But before I dried, I washed all of the blood of my arm and hand. (They were both on the same arm; my right)

After about 45 minutes of drying I finally got my legs back.

I ran back to the house and gently closed the door, so they wouldn't know when I came. As I crept back into my room, I could hear Elliot screaming,

"She's dead! She drowned because of me! It's all my fault!"

Wow. Poor Elliot. I shrugged, closed my bedroom door, and flopped on my bed. I was tired out. But, instead of falling asleep, I was constantly reminded of my still bleeding right arm, so I crept into the kitchen without my parents or Elliot noticing me, and got a bandage. It helped a little bit. Oh well, at least it helped stop the bleeding.

I was slowly slipping into sleep, when my cell phone started ringing.

Great, just great.

I picked it up (with my left hand, might I add.) and saw the caller ID.

Rikki.

"Hey Rikki!" I greeted my best friend, trying not to let the pain of my little 'incident' leak into my voice.

Rikki spoke with a very shaky voice, like she had been crying. But Rikki never cries, so I must be wrong.

"Cleo's hurt."

* * *

**Yes, I know how mean I am. I promise you will see more of Cleo in the next chapter. It might be a little short, and for that, I am sorry. I know putting Emma's POV in is weird, but I just wanted to have things shaken up a little bit. Also, with her shark attack, who knows how that will turn out? Well, I do. But that's not the point.**

**Also, I will start, maybe, putting the Authors Notes at the bottom. I don't really know yet. I really hope you like it, and would adore to know what you think. Please? For me? Go on, press that cute little review button, you know you want to! Anyway, thanks for reading, you don't know how much I appreciate it.**


	5. Chapter 5: Tears and Protests

**Hi Guys! Here's another chapter. If you think the quality of my story is deteriorating, please tell me. It's quite hard for me since I have been sick in bed these past three months, so I have to sneak downstairs and upload against my parents wishes. And if I get caught, well... I haven't got caught yet and let's just leave it at that. Now, enough about me, on to the story!**

* * *

Cleo opened her eyes very slowly. It felt like a jackhammer was gradually braking through her skull. It hurt like... she couldn't find a word for how bad it felt.

"She's waking up!" Rikki shrieked, her eyes welling up with hope. And tears. Tears? But Rikki never cries!

"Rikki?" Cleo asked sleepily.

"Cleo!" Rikki shrieked (again) and leant over to hug Cleo. Wait, leant over?

_Does that mean I'm lying down?_ She thought. Cleo looked around only to see white walls and silhouettes that she couldn't quite make out.

_Where the heck am I!?_ She screamed in her thoughts.

_Wait, calm down Cleo. Think through slowly and carefully._ She attempted to calm herself.

"Where the heck am I?!" She screamed. Plan to calm down? Failed. Epically.

"Shhh, shhh. Calm down. You're in a hospital." Rikki soothed the girl.

"Hospital!?"

"Yeah, a hospital. No wonder you're freaking out." Rikki threw a short glare to one of the silhouettes that Cleo just couldn't identify.

"Cleo! You're awake! How are you feeling?" The silhouette that had received Rikki's glare stepped closer, and Cleo realised it was Bella.

"Like the living dead." Cleo replied, groaning.

A figure stepped forward. It looked like a girl. A girl with blonde hair.

"Emma?" Cleo whispered in amazement.

"Yeah, it's me." Emma replied, her eyes filling with tears. Emma leant over and hugged the brunette. Cleo then shot worried looks between Bella and Emma. The two blond mermaids just burst out laughing.

"We've met already. Don't worry Cleo; any suspected conflict has been resolved." Emma said, still laughing at the look on Cleo's face.

_Flashback_

"Hi, I'm Bella." Bella stuck her hand out for the other girl to shake.

"Emma. I've heard so much about you!" Emma replied, smiling all the way.

"Good things I hope."

"Definitely. You're the mermaid who changed in Ireland?" Emma asked.

"Yep. When I was nine. I'm also the one who can turn water into jelly, crystal or I can make the jelly into glue. I heard you can freeze water?"

"You heard right. I can also make blizzards and stuff like that."

"Okay, enough with the formal meetings! We have a mermaid down!" Rikki grabbed the two by the arms and took them away.

_End of Flashback_

"Good. Wait, what happened?" Cleo asked with a yawn.

"Well, we were walking, hoping to go for a swim. Then you screamed and when I looked at you, you were on the ground with blood pouring out if a huge gash on your forehead." Rikki explained. Cleo's hand moved to her forehead and she felt the cut; It lead from ¾ across her forehead to just above her eyebrow.

A nurse entered the room.

"I'm sorry girls, but it's time to let Cleo sleep." The nurse stepped forward with a huge needle. Bella had to hold Rikki and Emma back from tackling the nurse.

"Let us go! She can't do that!" Rikki screamed.

"You have no right to touch her! Stop it!" Emma shrieked.

"Guys, it's just a sleeping drug! Let the nurse do what she has to do!" Bella tried to hold the two mermaids back.

"NO!" Emma and Rikki shouted in unison. The nurse quickly injected Cleo and rushed out of the room. Cleo felt her eyes drooping as she fell victim to the land of sleep.

"We really shouldn't have brought her here." Rikki hissed to Bella, managing to break out of her grip.

"Well, what's more important, Cleo, or our secret?" Bella asked, knowing the answer.

_Flashback_

"What do we do?" Rikki ran in circles around Cleo's motionless body.

"We need to get her to a hospital." Bella said firmly.

"No way! One blood test and... BAM! We're being shipped off to a lab, Cleo included!" Rikki argued.

"We can make up some excuse and let her not have blood tests!" Bella shot back.

"No! We have to protect our secret!" Rikki shouted at her.

"What's more important, Cleo, or our secret?"

"Cleo." Rikki answered with a defeated sigh.

_End of Flashback_

"Cleo." Rikki sighed.

"So what do you want to do while we wait for her?" Rikki asked, getting quite bored.

"I don't know." Emma answered while Bella just shrugged. Emma winced while hiding her arm behind her back, scared that her friends would see it and ask questions. She wanted to tell them when Cleo was awake.

"Well, I for one would like to know more about you, Emma." Bella smiled at Emma. Bella and Emma chatted while Rikki flopped down onto a chair, reading a magazine. She didn't show it, but Rikki was really worried for her friend. They didn't know what happened. One minute she was fine, then the next she was on the ground, bleeding. Talk about weird.

Tired of skinny girls with sparkly low-cut clothes on, she shut her magazine and got out her phone to call her boyfriend, Zane.

"Hey Zane."

"Rikki! Where are you? Is Cleo okay?"

He had heard about what happened, and cared about Cleo, because he had known her since pre-school. Even though he was a jerk back then.

"We're at the hospital. Cleo's sleeping right now. Em's here too."

"Emma? Really?"

"Yeah, as soon as she heard about Cleo, she got here as fast as she could manage."

"Okay. I'll be there in 10 minutes. See you soon." He hung up the phone. Rikki smiled, glad of the diversion. But now her worries came back and were consistently floating throughout her brain, not leaving her alone for a single second. She tried to shut them out and listened to Emma and Bella's conversation. Okay, she was eaves-dropping, but what they didn't know wouldn't kill them, right?

"I wish I could do that!" Bella murmured.

"Nah, I like your power." Emma whispered back.

"Not really. My power's useless."

"Don't say that! I'm sure it's great." Emma reassured her. Rikki got bored very quickly.

At least Zane would arrive soon.

_When is he going to get here?_ Rikki glanced down at her watch, not actually looking at the time.

Soon Zane rushed in. With food.

He had shut down the café so they wouldn't have to worry about it while Cleo was hurt.

"Sorry, stopped by the café. I heard that hospital food sucks." Zane puffed. It looked like he had run all the way there. Which was probably true. Rikki gave him a kiss on the cheek and helped him lay all of the food out on the table.

He had everything. From chips to fudge sundae.

"You're brilliant." Rikki gave him another kiss on the cheek.

"I try my best." He smiled. Bella came over and thanked Zane. Emma went over and she and Zane launched into deep conversation. Zane had meant to get Cleo some pretty awesome food, as well as getting some for Rikki, Emma and Bella. So there was a lot. Rikki happily grabbed a big packet of chips and began to eat them.

Bella grabbed a little strawberry shortcake and ate as well.

Rikki couldn't wait 'till Cleo woke up. But that would be a while because the drug the nurse gave her was pretty strong.

Bella decided to give Will a ring.

"Hey Bella!"

"Hiya Will."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital with Emma, Rikki, Zane and Cleo who's sleeping."

"Who's Emma?"

"One of Cleo and Rikki's friends. I'll tell you about her later. Listen. Do you want to come over and be there when Cleo wakes up?"

"I can't right now. I'm in the middle of training. Sophie's making me train more and even harder."

"Be careful. Okay, I'll tell Cleo you hope she feels better. Be careful, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks. I'll be there as soon as I can." Will hung up. Bella was kind of frustrated with him; couldn't he just drop training to come see his friend who was in _hospital_? But she knew what Sophie was like and sympathised for him. He did say he'd come as soon as he could. Bella laughed at Rikki who had finished her chips and was reaching for jelly. Kind of weird because her best friend could make jelly, but whatever.

"Don't they have any _good _magazines?" Rikki exclaimed, fed up with all the stupid magazines. There was either car and Motorsport stuff, computer geek stuff, or sickening skinny little anorexic blond girls stuck in short, tight dresses. Rikki's exclamation wasn't heard by most of the people in the room, because two of them were talking, one of them was sleeping, one of them was the one who said it, and the last one was, well, the only one who heard it.

"I don't see why those people get _that _upset about what you wear. It's just fabric!" Rikki muttered to herself. She did like shopping, but she wasn't one to drool and gossip for hours about how a celebrity didn't pick what was in style to wear. Rikki didn't get to think further into the subject because she was interrupted by Emma slapping Zane.

"That's my girl." Rikki walked over and praised Emma. Even though she had no idea why Emma slapped Zane in the first place. It was probably because he said something offensive to her. Or he was just being the normal Zane. Or maybe Emma just felt like slapping him. Any of those various scenarios were okay with Rikki.

_When is Cleo gonna wake up?_ Rikki complained in her thoughts. She walked away from Emma and started pacing around the room.

"That's it. I need to get out of this cage." Rikki muttered then stormed out, Emma following close behind. She followed Rikki to the open air. Rikki leant on the wall and Emma did the same.

"You're really worried, aren't you?" Emma asked. Well, it was more of a comment than a question.

"How did you know?" Rikki breathed in the fresh air.

"Rikki, you're my best friend, I think I've known you long enough to tell when something's bothering you." Emma replied.

"I mean, what if she doesn't make it?"

"She will make it. We'll all pull through this together. We always do." Emma reassured Rikki.

"But what about Bella? We always said the best things come in three."

"We were wrong."

"Yeah, I guess." Rikki shrugged.

"I've been meaning to ask this, but where are your lockets?" Emma asked, sounding hurt.

"Well... um..."

"Oh. Okay." Emma sadly walked back through the hospital doors.

"Emma, wait!" Rikki chased after her. Emma couldn't run, because of her arm, so Rikki soon caught up to her.

"We didn't-"

"No. Don't bother." Emma interrupted her. She didn't say it coldly, but she did sound very upset. They walked back to Cleo's room, and Rikki took a seat by her bed.

"If only I could get that stubborn girl to listen." Rikki whispered to Cleo, as if she could help. But obviously, she couldn't. Unconscious people don't say things.

"Rikki, come over here and give me a hug." Emma pulled Rikki out of her thoughts. Rikki walked over,

"So do you forgive us?" She asked, wrapping her arms around Emma's body in a hug.

"I can't stay mad at you guys. When I said 'talking to you guys is the only thing that keeps me sane.' I meant it. I love you guys." Emma lied. She didn't lie about loving them, but she was still very upset.

Those lockets were a symbol of their friendship. People may have thought them weird, but they were always the crazy girls who wore special lockets which they didn't take off. The lockets contained secrets. Memories. Of how things used to be. And she couldn't believe it.

Rikki could tell she was lying, but she didn't push it.

"Oh, I'm so tired." Emma yawned.

"Why?" Zane asked.

"Well, you try and swim from Spain to Australia and see how you feel." Rikki snapped on Emma's behalf.

"Oh. That would make me tired." Zane agreed.

"Ha, you couldn't even do it." Rikki snorted at her boyfriend.

Everyone's minds (except Cleo's) filled with comical pictures of Zane flailing, trying to swim across the ocean.

"Wait, what about your parents?" Bella asked Emma.

"Uh... yeah... them..." Emma trailed.

"What!? You didn't tell your parents?" Bella was on the verge of exploding. She just couldn't imagine a child leaving their parents without telling them where.

"Well, I couldn't tell them I was a mermaid, now could I?" Emma questioned, fully knowing the answer.

"But you could have at least left a note or something." Bella suggested.

"Well, I didn't." Emma stated simply.

"Well, now's a good time to." Bella picked up Emma's phone off the table.

"I'm not sure that'll go down so well..." Emma bit her lip.

"Exactly how long since your parents saw you last?" Rikki asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Uhhhh..."

"Mmhhm, very interesting." Bella glared at the mermaid.

"Emma!" Rikki exclaimed, knowing her parents would be blowing up with worry over their daughter.

"You're one to talk! You never tell us where you're going; you just disappear!" Emma screamed.

"Well, I know how much I worried about Cleo when she disappeared, so I think I have a valid point in this argument!" Rikki screamed back.

"You never have valid points! You never make sense!" Emma argued.

"I do make sense! You always think you're right about everything! You're not! You were wrong with Charlotte! 'The Charlotte Incident' was your entire fault! You wanted to be nice to her!" Rikki shrieked.

"No! It was Lewis' fault! Not mine! You always blame everything on me!"

"Guys, st-" Bella was cut off.

"Never get involved in an Emma-Rikki fight. And I mean never." Zane warned her, speaking from experience.

"No I don't! You just think you're Little Miss Perfect and Organised! That you do everything right!" Rikki and Emma continued the fight as if Bella and Zane hadn't spoken.

"No! I'm not perfect! You aren't either! You're wrong!" Emma yelled back.

"No I'm not! You should've told your parents!" Rikki shrieked.

"I couldn't! They would've made me stay! You don't know what happened!" Emma was close to tears.

"Well, then tell me what happened! Stop dodging the question!"

"I can't! You don't understand! You never understand!" Emma cried.

"I understand just fine! You don't trust us!" Rikki shouted back.

"That's it!" Emma screamed and froze Rikki's teeth together. Then she ran out in tears. Bella tried to run after her, but Zane stopped her.

"No Bella. Don't go. You take Rikki to the bathroom before her teeth melt. It won't help us if she turns into a mermaid in the middle of the hospital."

"Okay." She answered simply and guided Rikki out of the room. Bella quickly rushed to the bathroom with Rikki. Luckily, it was a single big room with a lock. Bella pushed Rikki inside, swung around and locked the door.

"What should we do?" Bella asked, if she could even respond. Rikki answered by slowly rubbing her teeth until the ice melted. The water fell onto her face and soon her golden tail appeared. Rikki grunted and curled her hand into a fist, getting her legs back.

"What do you think she meant 'We don't know what happened?' I mean, what happened?" Bella asked.

"No idea." Rikki paused. "But I'm finding out." She jumped to her feet and ran back to Cleo's hospital room. But Emma wasn't back yet, so Rikki just sat in a chair, waiting.

Meanwhile, Emma sat against the wall, huddled up, crying. She needed to tell them about her shark attack or Rikki would think that she didn't trust them. She couldn't have that. She needed trust. They needed trust. They needed it to hold them together, or else her life would crumble. She had nothing except her friends.

_I need to tell them. They're my friends. No, I can't tell them. You have to tell them. Now._ Her mind argued.

_What if I only told one person at a time? No, I need to tell them all together._

_Okay. I'm telling them all together. I better get back._ She hopped up; hoping that no-one (especially Rikki) would blow up at her when she came back. She walked slowly back to Cleo's room to find Zane, Rikki and Bella sitting in chairs.

"Emma! I'm sorry, I know you trust us. It's just, you've been gone so long, I was afraid-"

"No, it's fine, Rikki. I understand. Listen; there is something I've been keeping from you. Something that happened in Spain. But I plan to tell you all when Cleo wakes up. I promise." Emma cut Rikki off.

_Oh no. Did she meet new mermaids? Did she get new powers? Did she tell anybody about the secret? Did she make new friends? Does she hate us? Does she still have her tail? Wait, she still has her powers, of course she has her tail. Did she run into scientists? Oh, shut up, Rikki. You're worrying over nothing._

"All I want to do now is swim." Emma complained.

"I'll second that." Rikki laughed.

"I'll third that. Wait, can you third things?" Bella questioned.

"I don't know." Rikki laughed. All of a sudden Zane jumped up from his chair.

"I have a great idea!" He exclaimed.

"Which is?" Rikki asked immediately.

"You guys go for a swim. I can stay here with Cleo."

"NO!" All the girls shouted at the same time. As much as they wanted a swim, they could never leave Cleo alone like this. They just couldn't leave her, even if she didn't wake up for the next week; they needed to be here as much as they possibly could.

"Okay, okay. Just a suggestion." Zane shied away from the girls and sat back down. Rikki put her hand on top of Zane's.

"Look, it was a great idea, but we can't just leave her." Rikki explained to her boyfriend. He just nodded and lay back on his chair. They all sat on their chairs and stated at the clock on the wall. They could hear Cleo give little moans of pain occasionally.

They all just sat there, waiting. For hours. Rikki and Emma read magazines, while Bella and Zane just sat there, staring at the clock, tick after tick.

Soon the sun was setting.

"Excuse me, but visiting hours are over." A nurse walked in and notified the group.

"We're not leaving." Rikki stated.

"I'm sorry but you have to." The nurse ordered firmly.

"Listen. That girl is my soul sister, and I'm not leaving until she is out of this stupid hospital!" Rikki was really beginning to hate the place. The nurse scurried out, having lost the battle against the fiery girl.

Rikki slumped back in her chair again.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Rikki woke up to sun shining on her face.

"Ugh. Where am I?" She asked, before she realized the foolishness of her question. She yawned and stretched.

'Ah, right. The hospital.' She thought.

She got up and saw Bella still sitting on her chair, her face leaning on her shoulder. She saw Emma sleeping on her arm, shaped in an upside down V. Zane's head was leaning on his chest, snoring softly.

"Sleeping Beauty, wakey-wakey." She shook his shoulder. He just murmured and didn't wake up.

"Ugh. Wake up my useless potato of a boyfriend." She shook his shoulder harder.

Still nothing.

"That's it." She picked up a pillow that was resting on an empty chair. And threw it at his head.

Aha, that got him to wake up.

"Hmmm, wha?" He opened his eyes and scratched his head.

"Get up, stupid." Rikki ordered, very angry at his inability to wake up when she asked him to.

"What did I do?" He asked, yawning.

"Hmpf." Rikki crossed her arms and turned her back to him.

"Ah. Good sleep." Bella yawned as she woke up. She decided to wake up Emma, in case something happened and she wasn't conscious for it.

"Emma, Emma wake up." She said in a sing-songy voice. Emma's eyes snapped open.

"Thanks Bella." She paused, noticing everyone except her was awake. Well, besides Cleo. "Wouldn't want to miss anything."

"Okay, so what's going on?" Emma asked, yawning.

"Nothing much." Zane answered, looking at Rikki.

"So, Cleo hasn't woken up yet?" Bella asked, looking over to the brunette who was sleeping peacefully, breathing in and out evenly.

"Nope." Rikki answered bluntly.

Soon, a nurse walked in.

"I heard that you weren't supposed to be here last night." She smiled.

"Ah, hehe." Bella said awkwardly.

"Hmm, wha? What's happening? Where am I?" Cleo murmured, waking up. Then she felt that her left hand was in a cast. (A/N: **I made her left-handed. I don't know this for sure, but I'll try to find out. I made her left-handed because I'm left-handed**)

"No! I can't use my powers!" She moaned, trying to break her hand out of the plaster. This got a quizzical look from the nurse.

"She's delusional." Bella said quickly. Which got quizzical looks from _everyone_.

"My mother was a nurse. She taught me these things. And also, Cleo said she has these weird dreams where she can fly and shoot water out of her hands." Bella continued. Her mother wasn't really a nurse, she just made it up.

"Yeah, we all laughed when she told us." Rikki added onto Bella's lie. Emma and Zane just nodded.

"Okay, I think I'll leave you alone with your friend." The nurse said.

"Wait, what's your name?" Emma asked.

"Anna." The nurse replied, smiling. She had blond hair that was in a bun, with loose strands coming out and was wearing some sort of nurse's cap. She looked about 24 or 25. Then she left. And the group rushed over to Cleo's side.

"Cleo, Cleo, how are you feeling?" Bella asked frantically.

"Where am I? Why can't I feel my legs?" She complained, still loopy from the sleeping drug.

"Can't feel her legs?" Emma asked, who hadn't been given the full details of Cleo's state.

"Well, we don't know what happened, but somehow she broke her wrist and her legs at the same time." Rikki explained. Nobody knew why she broke her legs, because the way she looked when she got the injuries didn't show any evidence of breaking her legs. But she did fall weirdly on her wrist, so at least that's some explanation.

"Oh." Was all Emma said.

"Where am I?" Cleo repeated.

"Cleo, you're in the hospital, remember?" Rikki answered, trying her best to stay calm.

"Oh. Right." Cleo muttered.

"When am I getting out of here?" She questioned.

"We don't know, Cleo." Emma stated.

"Will I need a wheelchair?" Cleo asked, she had overheard that her legs were broken.

"Probably." Bella smiled at her.

"Who was that nice lady?" She asked.

"That was your nurse. Anna." Emma explained.

"Oh. Where's my- what the heck is that!?" Cleo screamed, pointing at Emma's arm with her right hand.

Emma had been good at hiding it, but Cleo had somehow seen her arm.

"Um, I guess I can tell you now."

"Tell us what?" Bella asked, who hadn't seen her arm.

"This." Emma raises her arm and everyone gasped. It had a bandage covering all of her arm, small blood stains where the shark's teeth had punctured her skin. Which was practically everywhere.

"Well, while I was in Spain, I had to take Elliot to the beach. He got water on me and I had to go in the ocean. I think I swam into a shark breeding ground. When the shark but me, 4 more came and attacked me. I froze their noses, so they couldn't smell me anymore. But I was about to freeze the last one when it bit me. I froze it's whole body. Then I managed to get back home and I sneaked in quietly. My parents thought I had drowned. Then I got the call from Rikki." Emma finished her explanation. Everybody else just stood there in shock. (Well, Cleo had no choice but to sit, but whatever.)

"Oh my gosh, Emma are you alright?" Cleo asked, caring as always.

"I'm fine." She smiled.

"It must hurt so badly." Rikki caressed Emma's arm carefully.

"I'm really alright."

"Oh, Emma." Bella smiled sympathetically.

"Guys, I don't want you worrying over me when Cleo is the one who really needs it." Emma stated.

"I don't want you worrying over me either." She attempted to cross her arms, but remembered just in time that she had a broken wrist. Everybody laughed at that because it did look pretty funny. Cleo looked around and spotted the food that Zane had brought in sitting on a table.

"Where did that come from?" She asked, pointing to it with her good hand.

"Zane brought it in while you were sleeping." Rikki smiled at her boyfriend.

"Thanks." Cleo said simply.

"Now, do you want anything?" Bella asked her friend.

"All I want to do is get out of here." Cleo closed her eyes and threw her head back on her pillow.

"That's it. I'm going to have a little chat with the receptionist." Rikki smiled sinisterly.

"Rikki, don't do anything you might regret." Emma warned.

"Yeah, yeah." Rikki waved her off.

"Rikki, I repeat; DO NOT do anything you might regret." Emma retorted.

"Might." Rikki laughed as she walked out.

"I never know what to do with that girl." Emma said, shaking her head.

"That makes two of us, Emma. That makes two of us." Cleo smiled.

Soon they all heard shouting down the hall.

Most of which that was coming from a certain blond mermaid.

They all ran out, except Cleo. She struggled to get out of bed, but was stopped by a firm order said by Emma.

"Rikki, don't be impolite!" Emma yelled at her. Rikki continued arguing with the receptionist.

"All she wants in to get out of this cursed hospital!" Rikki screamed.

"The doctor said she has to stay in here!" The receptionist yelled back.

"Well, then which way to the doctor?" Rikki shouted. It was a question, but it was so loud it didn't seem like it.

"She's in her office. Down the hall, five doors to the left." The receptionist said quickly, hoping to be rid of the girl.

"Thank you." Rikki stormed down the hall. She found the door, which said 'Dr River Itona' in shiny silver letters. Rikki pushed the door open hastily. The group came face to face with a young, and very surprised brunette woman.

"Yes, how can I help you?" The doctor asked.

"I need to get my friend out of this hospital." Rikki stated.

"Cleo Setori?"

"Yes." Rikki replied, glaring at her.

"I'm sorry but she has to stay here for the next few weeks." The doctor answered.

This made Rikki really mad.

"All she wants to do is get out of here! Can't you at least give her that?" Rikki shouted.

"I'm sorry. She needs special care. She has been hurt badly." The doctor retorted, not giving in to Rikki's demand.

"But she just wants to go home! She needs to!" Rikki screamed at the doctor.

"She needs to stay here. She needs special treatment." The doctor repeated firmly.

"No! I won't let her! She needs to go home! She wants to!" Rikki kept on going.

"She needs to stay here." The doctor ordered.

"Absolutely not! All she wants is to be free!" Rikki cried.

"No. I'm sorry, but she is staying here." The doctor repeated calmly.

"What if I promised to look after her?" Rikki blurted out, not thinking about what she was saying, just driven by a deep desire to get Cleo out of the place. Everybody gasped at Rikki's proposal.

"That could work. But looking after her would have to be your top priority." Dr. Itona informed the girl.

"Yes! Sure! I'll do anything to get her out of here!" Rikki jumped at her chance.

"Someone would have to come in and check on her every week. And if she is having even the slightest problem of you looking after her, mental, emotional or physical, she is coming straight back. You need to understand all of her needs and you will have to make sacrifices if she is to get better." The doctor proceeded.

"I understand." Rikki said calmly, but inside she was jumping up and down and dancing like a crazy person.

"I will think about it. Give me a few days and you'll have your answer." The doctor gave Rikki her order.

Rikki wanted it sooner, but wasn't about to protest.

"Okay." She said slowly, not daring to go against the orders she had been given for fear that the doctor would change her mind.

"Now, leave me in peace to finish my work, please." The doctor motioned towards the door.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Itona." Emma thanked the doctor.

"Please, call me River." The doctor smiled.

"Okay. Then thank you, River." Emma repeated, but now using the doctor's first name. Then the group exited, and Rikki ran ahead, excited to tell Cleo the news.

"Cleo! Cle-" Rikki shrieked before Emma covered her mouth because she had noticed Cleo was sleeping.

"Shut up, Rikki!" Emma warned in a harsh whisper. Rikki just squirmed out of Emma's grasp and began to vigorously shake Cleo's shoulder.

"Rikki, stop!" Emma yelled at her best friend. Rikki didn't stop, all she was thinking about was the fact that Cleo was getting out of her cage.

"Hmmm, Rikki, why are you shaking me?" Cleo asked, waking up.

"You're getting out of here!" Rikki squealed.

"I am? Really!?" Cleo demanded, getting really excited. She had always hated hospitals.

"Yep. And I'm looking after you." Rikki stated proudly.

"What?" Cleo whispered. This was the very reaction Rikki was afraid of.

"That's great!" Cleo added, surprising Rikki.

"Great? Rikki's never looked after anything in her life." Emma snorted, which got a look of daggers from Rikki.

"The doctor still has to approve it." Bella warned.

"This is going to be awesome!" Rikki exclaimed, still running on the excitement and happiness that her best friend was getting out of the hospital.

"I... love... you... guys..." Cleo said, eyelids drooping.

And with that, they let their friend slip into the welcomed clutches of sleep.

* * *

**So, what did you think? Please review, because I don't know if anybody is actually _reading _this thing. Anyway, thanks for reading, and have a good day/night.**


	6. Chapter 6: Voices and Dreams

**I feel like I haven't been updating regularly, even though I have, every week, like I promised. But regardless, here's a chapter with 3,000 more words than usual. (And that's a lot!) I found myself just not able to stop writing, and this is the result. A super-long, before schedule chapter. Don't you love it when I get inspired? I have to ask you guys a question. Do you have anything against POV's? Which do you prefer, POV's or Third Person POV's? I would really like to know, because sometimes I really like to and it would be best to do POV's, but if people really don't like them, I won't. Okay, I have put some Wella in this, because people were asking for it. Plus, I was planning on putting some in anyway.**

* * *

Rikki was wading through the blue underwater world, her fellow mermaids beside her. Everyone but Cleo.

Yes, you're probably wondering how in the world somebody got the group to leave the hospital.

Well, this is what happened.

_Flashback_

River (She's the doctor, remember.) came in and went up to Rikki.

"Yes?" Rikki thought she was going to get her answer. Well, that wasn't going to happen.

"Miss. Chadwick, I must ask you and your friends to please leave the hospital grounds." River looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

"What? Why?" Rikki asked in confusion.

"Your friend needs to be alone so I can assess her."

"Please leave." She continued.

"Okay." Rikki nodded slowly. She didn't want River to change her mind about her looking after Cleo, so she followed an order for the first time in her life and she silently went out the door, her friends (and boyfriend) following.

_End of Flashback_

So, that was why Rikki was swimming.

Emma was swimming at a normal pace, so Rikki decided to play a trick on her.

She swam behind her and grabbed her tail. Emma turned around, surprise written all over her face. Then she smiled. Bella noticed that Emma and Rikki had stopped swimming, so went over to see what they were doing.

Bella pointed upwards, and knew that Emma and Rikki would get what she meant. Soon, three blond heads popped above the water.

"What were you doing?" Bella asked.

"Oh, it's this thing we used to do." Emma rolled her eyes at Rikki, who shrugged.

"We call it 'The Mermaid Chain'." Rikki explained. "Sometimes I use it to surprise Emma or Cleo. It's where a mermaid grabs onto another mermaid's tail and another mermaid grabs onto her tail. You need to have two or more mermaids to do it."

"You sure said mermaid a lot in that sentence." Emma laughed.

"Yes, I guess I did." Rikki smiled.

"Did you get that, Bella?" Emma asked, seeing slight confusion on Bella's face.

"Yeah, I did." Bella headed back underwater as Emma and Rikki did the same. They continued swimming, Rikki and Emma racing each other, while Bella twirled and traced her hands around different coral. Bella decided to go to the Moon Pool before Emma and Rikki got too bored waiting for her.

When she surfaced, there was no bragging of who had won the race, everything was silent. Rikki had won, but knew things would be different if Emma hasn't gotten attacked by sharks in Spain. She knew that her arm was still giving her a bad time, so Rikki didn't say anything. But, when in the water, Emma's arm healed faster, it hurt less and she could almost forget about it, but when she got her legs back it started to really hurt again. It was still healing faster than if a plain human got the injury, and for that, she was thankful.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Rikki asked.

"Not really sure. How long does the doctor have to assess Cleo anyway?" Bella asked.

"A whole twenty-four hours." Emma answered.

"That's a long time." Rikki sighed, swishing her tail lazily.

"Not really," Bella said, which got glares from Emma and Rikki. "But when we're not seeing Cleo, I guess any time is a long time." She added nervously, before her hair caught fire or her teeth were frozen or something.

"Well, I'm thirsty. Anyone who wants to go to the café is free to join me." Rikki looked towards her friends, and then realised something.

"Wait, you haven't seen the café yet, have you Emma?" Rikki asked and Emma shook her head. All Emma knew was that the JuiceNet had gone under after she and Ash had left, and Zane re-bought it and named it in Rikki's honour.

"Meet me there." Rikki said simply, before she swam out.

"Hey, Emma?" Bella asked, hoping to catch her attention.

"Yes?"

"I think you should tell your parents where you are, they'd understand. If they don't, Rikki can always _make _them understand." Bella smiled.

"Maybe. Tell you what, I'll think about it." Emma smiled back at her.

"Make sure you do." Bella said, and then headed out. Emma followed her, and began speeding back to the mainland. She found her way to Lewis' Secret Fishing Spot, one of their favourite places to go and return from swims. It was very secluded, and no-one except the mermaids and occasionally Zane came here now that Lewis was gone. Emma heaved herself up to see that Bella was nowhere in sight.

As soon as Emma had heaved herself far enough away from the water so that she wouldn't get wet again, Rikki popped out from behind a rock.

"Someday you'll give me a heart-attack, Rikki." Emma laughed.

"Well, we were going to be waiting forever if you're going to air-dry, so I thought I'd give you some assistance." Rikki grinned before putting her hand out and making a fist. Soon the two were enveloped in steam.

Emma had her legs back in a matter of seconds, so she hopped up, ignoring the hit of pain coming from her arm.

"Let's go. Bella will be there by now." Rikki led Emma away from the beach and soon they were at Rikki's Café.

As soon as Emma saw it, her jaw dropped and Rikki burst out laughing, followed by Bella who had been waiting at the entrance.

"Just the reaction I wanted." Rikki patted Emma on the back.

"C'mon, it's better inside." Bella smiled and took Emma inside.

"Wow." Was all Emma said.

"Oh, come on, me and Zane have put a lot of hard work into this place and all it gets is a wow?" Rikki huffed playfully.

"I mean, it-it's... _amazing_!" Her eyes lit up and darted everywhere.

She smiled at every place she looked. Except for...

"Everything's awesome, except _that_." She said with disgust, pointing at Nate who was singing off-key and sounded like a wailing baby hitting a cat with a mallet. Not an exaggeration.

"Uh, yeah." Rikki coughed awkwardly. "Wait, why do we still have him here?" She asked to anyone in particular.

"Because Little Miss Bella is too nice." Zane laughed, walking up to them and putting his arm around Rikki.

"Oh, now I remember." Rikki laughed along with her boyfriend, while Bella crossed her arms over her chest, glaring daggers at the two of them.

"I see." Emma's face displayed confusion, she felt as though she had forgotten something. Something important...

"Hey, we came here to get drinks, so Zane, go make me a kiwi strawberry." Rikki ordered, giving him a push in the right direction.

"Yes Boss." He saluted and marched away to the counter.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Bella asked, fiddling with a strand of her hair.

"I want to go visit Cleo." Rikki whined.

"You know we can't. So, what else?" Emma reminded her best friend, who actually, didn't need reminding.

"Well, Bella's a great singer." Rikki looked to her friend slyly.

"No way. I'm not that good." Bella backed away.

"Anything to get Nate to stop singing." Emma smiled.

"Ever thought about asking him nicely?" Bella suggested nervously.

"The thought never came to mind. Now get up there and sing!" Rikki ordered, pointing to the stage with Nate singing horribly on it.

"No no no no no no." Bella almost pleaded.

"Yes yes yes yes yes yes." Rikki copied her, but with yes's instead of no's.

"Rikki, here's your smoothie!" Zane walked up and handed it to his girlfriend.

"Great. Now, get on that stage and be the star that you are!" Rikki barked playfully.

"No! Please, I really don't want to." Bella pouted.

"Come on! You're a born singer." Rikki argued.

"Rikki, I don't want to make her do what she doesn't want to do." Emma said firmly and Rikki stopped.

"Thanks, Emma." Bella smiled gratefully.

"Anytime." Emma smiled back.

Rikki glanced over to a customer sitting on a stool at the counter. She seemed to be writing a note.

_Note._

The word flashed in her brain like a siren.

'_Note?_' She asked in her thoughts.

Then one word dawned on her.

_HELP._

'_That note I found at Cleo's! What was it about? Was it intended for Cleo? Who wrote it?_' She thought hard but no one seemed to stand out as needing help aside from Emma and Cleo. But the note had happened long before, so they couldn't be connected.

"Rikki? Helloooo?" Bella waved her hands in front of Rikki's face.

"Hmm, wha?" Her head shot up.

"Emma was wondering what we should do." Bella informed her.

"I know!" Rikki had an idea. Put a light bulb above her head and it would have been perfect.

"What?" Emma asked, turning to Rikki.

"Three words." Rikki smiled, pushing all thoughts of notes and distress calls out of her mind.

"Oh no, don't make me guess." Emma pleaded.

"Fine. Go see Ash."

"What?" Emma asked quietly.

"Go see your boyfriend, for goodness sake!" Rikki yelled.

"Oh. Right. Him." Emma exited Rikki's and headed down to the stables. She walked down the rocky path and finally saw the stables.

She looked closer and she could see Ash grooming Rebel. Just seeing him filled Emma with excitement, and she broke into a sprint.

"Ash!" Emma screamed.

"Emma?" Ash had time to look up before Emma tackled him. They both fell to the ground.

"Emma?" Ash asked again before quickly hopping up and helping Emma get off the ground.

"You're back! What? How? When? Are you still a..." Ash asked incredulously.

"Mermaid? Why yes, yes I am. Thanks for asking." She laughed.

"Why are you back and when did you get here? And why didn't you visit me as soon as you came?" He joked, but was also serious at the same time.

"Cleo. Cleo got hurt and I swam over here. I also got- um..." Emma answered partially.

"Got what?" Ash asked, concerned.

"I got attacked by sharks."

"What!? Oh, Emma." He enveloped her in a hug and she cried on his shoulder.

* * *

Bella walked over to Will's boat shed. She had left Rikki because she needed to do some boring paperwork. She couldn't help but wonder about what Cleo was doing.

She waved the thought off and opened the door in front of her.

"Hey Bella!" His face lit up when she opened the door, but she couldn't help but notice the sheet of sweat covering his forehead.

"Sophie's been overworking you again, hasn't she?" Bella asked sympathetically.

"I'm fine, really." He smiled back at her.

"If you're sure..." She sat down next to him on the couch.

"So, how are you?" He asked.

"Oh, stressed over Cleo and Emma." Bella sighed heavily.

"Emma?" He inquired with a questioning look on his face.

"She was friends with Cleo and Rikki before we came along. Oh, and she's a mermaid as well, and she transformed with them. You really should meet her." Bella explained.

"Oh right. How's Cleo?" He asked.

_So they didn't tell me everything about mermaids..._ Will thought, and couldn't help but be slightly angry towards them. But he pushed all angry thoughts out of his mind, as Cleo was in a hospital, and he wanted to spend time with Bella, without rage poisoning his thoughts.

"Hurting. I'm really worried about her." She smiled weakly.

"I'm sure she'll be okay." He intertwined his fingers with hers.

"So, shall we get to it?" Bella questioned.

"What?" Will asked, having forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.

"Diving, silly." She punched him lightly in the arm.

"Oh, right; that." He got up and trudged to the door with sadness that he hid from Bella. Will picked up his gear from the corner before heading out the door, Bella eagerly following him. They walked to a secluded bay, where he put on his swimming gear.

"All set?" Bella asked when it looked like he had finished.

"Yeah, you go ahead." Will motioned to the crashing waves. Bella dived in, and went to where the water was deep enough that nobody could see her if someone came by. Will jumped in after her, and soon found her.

Bella smiled and held his hand. She and Will started swimming, Bella pointing to various corals and fish.

They swam together for about an hour and a half, before Will pointed upwards in the water.

"Yes?" Bella asked after the two surfaced.

"I better get going; Sophie will be wondering where I am and why I didn't tell her where I was going." He sighed.

"It's always Sophie, isn't it." Bella mumbled and looked down dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, Bella. How about I text her when we get to shore?"

Her eyes lit up at his suggestion. It meant she could spend more time with him, and would keep Sophie off their scent for a little while longer, and that was always a good thing. Sophie always blamed everything on Bella and her friends, and neither Bella nor Will thought it was fair. Bella realised she hadn't replied to Will's suggestion, so she answered with a simple,

"Great."

They both ducked under and found their little beach again. Bella pulled her body away from the surf and called to Will,

"Hey, there's a towel behind that big rock over there, could you please get it for me?" Bella asked and motioned to the rock she described. Will walked over and soon saw it, so he picked it up and ran back over to give it to Bella.

"Thanks." Bella began drying herself off. When she got her legs back, she walked over to Will, who was letting the sun dry him off.

"Hey, use this. Sophie will be able to tell you've been swimming and she'll ask who you've been swimming with if you go home wet." Bella laughed.

"Thanks." He laughed back. Bella took a seat next to him on the sand, but made sure to stay far enough away that she couldn't get wet. Will took out his phone and sent a short text to Sophie telling her not to worry about him.

_As if she would worry about me, she's too busy barking orders at me or flirting with Zane to care about me. The only thing she'd care about is why I wasn't training as hard as I used to, or why I wasn't training on time._ He thought sadly, drying the remainder of water left on his body.

"Hey, are you okay?" Bella asked, noticing Will had stiffened.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about Sophie." He sighed heavily.

"She shouldn't push you like she does." Bella placed her hand on top of his.

"But she's my sister; I want to make her happy." He replied.

"She shouldn't gain her happiness by pushing you around. You need to tell her how you feel." Bella suggested.

"It's not that easy. She twists things and ends up having me do whatever she says. I don't know how to get out of it." He looked down.

"I'll help you. I'll be there for you." Bella smiled at him.

"But, I don't want her blaming everything on you!" Will exclaimed.

"I don't care. I want to help any way I can." Bella said defiantly.

"Really?" He asked in disbelief.

"Truly."

They leaned in and their lips pressed against each other. When they pulled away, Bella shot up.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." She dashed away into the surf.

"Bella, wait!" Will called after her. He ran up to the sea, trying to catch any glimpse of Bella's golden tail. The water swam around his ankles and he could see nothing.

"Bella!" He shouted, hoping that somehow, she could hear him.

She didn't.

The crashing waves kept crashing, and the currents stayed the same, as they had no mermaid to fight against them. No blond head popped up from the surf.

"Bella..." Will whispered. He sat there, waiting, still as a stone. The whispering wind blew against him and he did not flinch.

He sat there, waiting for the mermaid to return to him.

And she still didn't come. And he still didn't move.

Finally, he gave up. He trudged across the sand, weather having turned as dismal as his mood. Thunder clouds and lightning strikes boomed down to the earth below.

He exited the bay, and walked back to his shed.

He opened the door to be met by a fierce Sophie, and he really wasn't in the mood for another one of her rants.

"Will! Where have you been? You've been out with that Bella girl again, haven't you?" She started.

"Sophie, just be quiet. Yell at me in the morning."

And to his surprise, she said nothing further.

He ended flopping on the couch, lying there until falling into an uncomfortable slumber.

* * *

Will woke up to sounds of birds chirping. Sun was shining in his eyes in groups, like it was being covered by trees. He looked around and he could see foliage everywhere. And then he realised he was on Mako.

Bella was right in front of him.

"Bella?" He asked in bewilderment.

"Come on, Will! We're gonna be late!" She squealed as she took his hand and started running. She was wearing a white dress that went a little past her knees, and had a pink hibiscus flower in the bottom right hand corner.

"For-For what?" He stumbled over the tree roots; it's quite hard to navigate Mako when someone else is navigating.

"You'll see." She giggled. They kept running until soil turned into golden sand.

"Come sit with me." She plopped down on the sand.

"So, you're not angry at me?" Will asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Look how beautiful the waves are, Will." She whispered, her eyes twinkling.

"So are you angry at me or not?" Will persisted with his question.

A wrong move.

"Show some respect! How dare you! Do you not care about the sea? Do you not care about me? The sea turned me into what I am!" She screamed at him.

"Of course I care about you." Will evaded her demands.

"If you don't care about the sea, I'm dead to you." She paused and stood up. "Make your decision."

"I love the sea! Those big blue expanses of water are magnificent!" He exclaimed, a little lamely, but he only had one choice.

"Good." She sat back down.

"You're not angry at me anymore?" Will questioned.

"No, your answer showed you cared about the sea... and me." She answered and held his hand.

"What about yesterday?" He asked.

"We both know that was my fault." A tear dropped down her cheek.

"It wasn't your fault. You are the most amazing person I have ever met. I'm so glad to have you in my life. And... and... I think I love you, Bella Hartley." Will admitted.

"Really?" Bella looked into his eyes.

"Really." He answered firmly. Then they kissed and she didn't run away. She stayed right there, almost as if she was destined to be in that very spot.

"I love you too." She whispered. They stayed there; sitting in each other's arms for what they thought was about an hour.

"Weren't we going to be late for something?" Will murmured, remembering what Bella had said to him when he woke.

"Oh no! They're going to be so mad!" Bella dashed up, pulling Will with her.

"Who's going to be so mad?" Will questioned to a frantic Bella.

"I need to be there! We need to move!" Bella ran across the sand, Will clutching onto her hand for dear life. The two dashed across the golden floor, sand flying in their wake.

They finally made it and everything was still sand. There was a huge fire in the middle, the forest of Mako lurking huge above them.

It looked like there were three figures a little while away. Will couldn't quite make out who they were, but he felt as though he knew them.

"Why are we here? What are we late for?" He inquired, not even knowing if he would get a straight answer out of Bella.

"I'm not allowed to tell you yet." She paused. "Am I guys?" She asked and the three figures stepped closer and Will realised that two of them were Rikki and Cleo. And one of them was a girl with straight blonde hair and blue eyes, and he hadn't the faintest idea who she was. All three shook their heads, signalling no.

"It's not ready yet." Bella said.

"What's not ready yet?" Will asked, getting frustrated.

"I'll tell you when the time comes." Bella answered vaguely.

The fire then heated up and grew seven feet taller than its regular size and soon it started to glow different colours, before reverting back to normal.

"Tell him." Cleo almost ordered.

"Why are we here? What are we late for?" Will asked, knowing that somehow, he would get his answer now.

But he definitely wouldn't like it.

"The Death of The Mermaids." And with that, Bella fell to the ground. Before Will could cry out, a fierce blue light shot out of her crystal necklace, and everything went black.

"_Will, Will, wake up._"

"_It's time to wake up, sleepy-head._" The voice sounded kind.

"_Please wake up, Will!_" The voice sounded like... Bella?

"_Will! You're starting to scare me!_"

"_Will, please wake up!_"

"_Will! I need you to wake up! I couldn't bear it if something happened to you!_"

And with that, he opened his eyes, not to be met by Bella, but by his red-headed sister, who had a fearful look on her face.

"Will! Finally! Now let's get training!" She pumped her fist in the air.

_Wait, was that... just a dream?_ He thought to himself.

"You were sleeping for such a long time; I thought you'd never wake up! But now you have, get dressed and get out that door. You have training to do!" Sophie ordered.

_I guess that's my answer... So... Bella doesn't like me? Wait, this means she didn't die!_ He was on the verge of jumping up and down, but also on the verge of breaking down and crying. So, Bella didn't feel the same way as he did, but she didn't die? The thought made his head ache.

"Hey, you look kind of fidgety, mind telling me what's wrong?" Sophie asked.

"Nope. Sorry, Soph, I've got stuff to do." He went out the door.

"Will Benjamin, get back here this minute!" She screamed after him. He heard her, but kept on walking. He ran down to Rikki's café, where she and Zane were just opening up.

"Hey, have you guys seen Bella?" Will asked, panting ever so slightly.

"Nope, last time I saw her she murmured something about helping you dive." Rikki answered, walking over to Zane.

"Okay, tell me when you see her." Will dashed out of the café, barely hearing Rikki say,

"Sure."

* * *

_Meanwhile...__  
_  
Emma was happily riding on a horse, Ash by her side, he had taught her how to ride one-handed, so she was having much fun as she could.

"I better get going now." Emma stated, looking at her boyfriend.

"Where will you go?"

"That's a silly question; I'll go- I don't know. I don't have a home or anything like that. There's no one I can stay with." Emma smiled weakly.

"You could stay... at Zane's?" He asked.

"I don't think he'd accept me, and I don't think I really want to." Emma shuddered.

"You could stay at my place, if you want." He suggested.

"Oh no, I couldn't do that. Plus, I don't think your parents would like the idea of your girlfriend staying with you." Emma raised her eyebrows and Ash suddenly looked awkward and nervous.

"Just teasing." Emma laughed.

"It's your best shot. And once they see how responsible you are I don't think they'd have a... problem. They're not those kind of parents." He laughed nervously.

"If you insist..." She sighed.

"Or..."

"What?" She asked, curious.

"Well, I've bought this flat and they're going to give it to me in about three days. I could say I need it quicker and get it now." Emma sometimes forgot that he was a year older than she was.

"Oh." Emma paused, thinking about it. It really was her best shot. Either that or go back to Spain and she couldn't let that happen. Or stay with... Zane.

"Okay." Emma agreed. Having thought about it, she concluded that anything was better than staying with Zane.

"Great." He smiled.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Rikki and Zane had just opened up the café about two and a half hours ago and things weren't really going all that great. Suddenly, Rikki felt a vibration in her pocket. She looked at her phone to see that she had gotten a text from Bella.

**Hey, I was wondering if I could have today and tomorrow off.****  
****~ Bella**

**Yeah, sure. We'll probably have closed by the time you come on.****  
****~ Rikki**

**Awwww, slow day, huh?****  
****~ Bella**

**Pretty much. There's only this chubby guy who looks like he's had way too many cupcakes, a couple looking stupidly into each other's eyes and not even drinking their juice, and a weird dude in a hat and one of those button-up-to-the-neck coats.****  
****~ Rikki**

**I hope things pick up soon.****  
****~ Bella**

**I don't. Without you, Nate will have to sing. Ugh.****  
****~ Rikki****  
**  
**I guess you're right. Sorry.****  
****~ Bella**

**No, don't be. You deserve a few days off, even if it means having Nate scare away our customers, what little they are.****  
****~ Rikki**

**Thanks, Rikki. I really appreciate it.****  
****~ Bella**

**Why do you need time off anyway?****  
****~ Rikki**

**Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies.****  
****~ Bella**

**Alright, I can take a hint. Hope you sort out whatever's wrong with you.****  
****~ Rikki**

**Me too, Rikki. Me too. But it's highly unlikely.****  
****~ Bella**

**Come on, now you have to tell me!****  
****~ Rikki**

**Who made that a law?****  
****~ Bella**

**I did.****  
****~ Rikki**

**Of course you did.****  
****~ Bella**

**Just tell me!****  
****~ Rikki**

**Absolutely not. My lips are zipped.****  
****~ Bella**

**Fine. I'll leave you alone. I hope you get everything sorted out.**

**~ Rikki**

**Thanks.****  
****~ Bella**

**Anytime. You know you can always talk to me, right?****  
****~ Rikki**

**Yeah, I know.****  
****~ Bella**

**Make sure you do.****  
****~ Rikki**

**I will, I will.****  
****~ Bella**

**Alright then, bye.****  
****~ Rikki**

**Bye.****  
****~ Bella**

Rikki slipped her phone back in her wallet and glanced at her watch.

The doctor said that they could visit Cleo at 4:00 PM that day. It was more than twenty-four hours, but Rikki didn't object because she had been too lazy to figure out the exact time measurements, so she left that to the doctor, who took about 3 or four more hours than she needed too. If Rikki had known that, she would have been outraged.

"Zane?" Rikki called her boyfriend's name.

"Yes, Rikki?" He answered.

"Can I please go for a swim?" Rikki pouted, and put on the puppy-dog eyes that (she knew) Zane couldn't resist. Usually, she wouldn't whine her way out of work, but she was _dying _for a swim.

"Sure, go on. It's not as if there's a lot going on here anyways." Zane gestures to the whole room which had a total of about four customers in it.

"You're the best." She pecked him on the lips and dashed out, Zane laughing behind her. She jumped into the water, barely waiting to check if it was safe. She felt the cool water soothe her skin, and she sped off. She swam into the Moon Pool, not actually expecting anyone else to be there. But when she surfaced, she saw another golden tail.

"Bella? What are you doing here?" She asked, recognising the face. A stunned Bella didn't answer; she just kept opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish.

"Answer me." Rikki ordered gently.

"I-I didn't think anybody would be here and I-I-" She stuttered.

"I didn't think anybody would be here either. I guess we were both wrong." Rikki laughed. Then her eyes narrowed.

"Why were you so surprised to see me here? Are you hiding something from me, Bella?" Rikki asked.

"N-no, w-why would I-I be hiding s-something from you?" She stuttered again.

"Bella, you do realise that you're a terrible liar, don't you? Now tell me what's wrong." Rikki swam over to her friend and put her arm around Bella's shoulder.

"Nothing's w-wrong."

"Oh, so you stutter all the time? I'm sorry, but I didn't notice that." Rikki said sarcastically. Bella didn't respond.

Realising that Bella wasn't going to say anything, Rikki spoke up.

"Bella, please tell me. I want to help you."

"I kissed Will!" She blurted out and started crying.

"Shhh, shhh, I'm sure it's okay." Rikki rubbed her friend's back.

"No it's not!" Bella sobbed.

"Bella, he's liked you for a long time." Rikki told her.

"No he hasn't, he likes someone else!" She cried.

"He can't have. He's nuts about you." Rikki smiled.

"No he isn't. I'm just the stupid blonde new girl who's a good singer." She insisted.

"No you're not. And if anybody thinks that, I'll make sure to set their hair on fire." Rikki grinned.

"He only likes me because I'm a mermaid. He doesn't like who I really am." Bella continued.

"Yes he does. Have you seen the way he looks at you? Do you really think he would defend you against Sophie if he didn't like you for who you are?" Rikki asked.

"No. I guess not..." Bella admitted. Rikki saw that she was making progress.

"Do you really think he'd make up excuses for you against water, and protect you from the tentacle if he didn't like you?" Rikki persisted.

"No... But, I'm sure he likes someone else!"

"He looks at girls when they're running past, and Zane thought he liked you and I couldn't help but think..."

"Zane is an over-protective, jealous potato sack." Rikki shrugged.

"But how do you explain him looking at girls when they exercise and when they run past!" Bella cried.

"Ha! He looks at them because they have water bottles. Which contain _water_. As in water equals wet, and wet equals mermaid, and mermaid equals _**RUN!**_" Rikki laughed.

"Oh." Bella sniffled.

"See what I mean?" Rikki laughed once more.

"I still don't think he likes me."

"Of course he does! And he has one brilliant quality that no other boy can match." Rikki said purposefully.

"And what is that?" Bella asked, curious.

"He's the only boy in a twenty mile radius not to drool over you."

Bella laughed at this.

"I guess that is a rather excellent quality." Bella murmured and Rikki burst out laughing.

"You all fixed now?" Rikki asked.

"I don't think so." Bella smiled.

"But at least fixed enough to play tonight?" Rikki looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Sure. But I'll still need tomorrow off though."

"It's a deal." Rikki shook hands with the other blond mermaid. Bella soon swam out and Rikki was left alone, listening to water drip and ripple.

She looked around and noticed how beautiful the place was; and she wondered, how many conversations had been held in this place? How many historical moments did it keep a secret behind its rocky walls?

_She was just like you, you know. _A voice spoke. A voice Rikki had never heard before. It sounded like a girl.

"What?" She spun around to look at the cave walls.

Nothing.

No one.

_Must've been a figment of my imagination. But it sounded pretty real._ Rikki wondered.

_Exactly like you in every way.__  
_The voice laughed.

"Who's in here?" Rikki demanded.

_You're alone. You should know that, Rikki._

"How do you know my name?" She cried.

_I know lots of things. Your name is Rikki Chadwick you live on the Gold Coast, your best friends are Emma Gilbert and Cleo Setori. You are a mermaid and you transformed with them. Cleo found out in a bathtub, Emma found out in the ocean. And you, my dear girl, found out after getting hit by sprinklers.__  
_  
"How do you know these things? Who are you? What do you want from me?" Rikki spun around again to look at the cavern walls.

_She really was like you. Always questions, but never wanting to know the boring scientific answers._

"Who was like me?" Rikki asked, already knowing she wouldn't get a straight answer.

_She would have loved you. But instead you threw her away._

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rikki crossed her arms over her chest.

_Do you want your answer?_

"Answer to what?" Rikki questioned.

_I know you want it, so I'll give it to you. Dr. River Itona is going to let you care for your friend. After her assessment, she will see how much you care about her and how she cares about you. But you must take good care of her.__  
_  
"Really? That's great! Thank you!" Rikki shouted.

_It is not me who is granting your wish. She found that out by herself._

"Oh. But, thanks anyway." Rikki said quietly.

_You are welcome, child.__  
_  
"You're starting to sound like Miss. Chatham." Rikki laughed.

_Ah, Louise. She too would have liked you very much.__  
_  
"Please tell me who you're talking about." Rikki pleaded, one of the very rare times when she said please.

_Why should I tell you? You threw her away, when you let that stranger in._

"What stranger?"

_You don't deserve to know the secrets I hold.__  
_  
"Is that a fancy way of saying, I'm not going to tell you in a million years?" Rikki inquired, raising her eyebrows.

_Why, yes. You are very smart, Rikki.__  
_  
"Er, thanks?"

_Definitely like her._

"Who are you talking about!?" Rikki screamed.

_Do you really want to know?__  
_  
"Yes!" She shrieked.

_Julia Dove. But you threw her away when you put your locket aside, and started wearing that crystal. And you've also broken the heart of the one who has stolen her grandson's love.__  
_  
"Julia?" Rikki whispered.

_Yes, Julia.__  
_  
"Wait, I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"

_Yes, you didn't mean to, but you threw two hearts away in the process.__  
_  
"Wait, what do you mean, 'I broke the heart of the one who stole her grandson's love'?" Rikki questioned.

_You also broke the heart of Emma Gilbert, the one who is in love with Ash Dove, Julia's grandson. She doesn't show it, but you don't know how much she was hurt when you stopped wearing your lockets.__  
_  
"Emma..." Rikki whispered, tears starting to fall down her face.

_Now do you see what you have done?__  
_  
"Yes..."

_I should hope you do.__  
_  
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." She said quietly.

_You need to throw them away. They will do you nothing but harm.__  
_  
"Throw what away?" Rikki looked up to the walls again, face stained with tears.

_The crystals. They will hurt you._

"B-but, I don't understand! They healed Bella!"

_That is only because they are a part of her._

"Part of her?" Rikki asked.

_Once, a little nine-year-old girl wandered to a sea cave in Ireland. It's very air was heavy with magic. There was an enchanting pool of water, so mystical and captivating.__  
__The little girl stepped into it. She didn't know the fate that would befall her that day. The moon crossed overhead and the water lit up, as if it had been waiting. A long scaly tail formed on the girl. Little did she know, that deep below the bottom of the pool, crystals were embedded in the rock. They made her what she is today. They are a part of her. Not a part of you.__  
_  
"What? But those very same crystals are in these walls!" Rikki shouted.

_Yes, but they are not combined with the magic of the Moon Pool._

"So they are a part of Bella?"

_Yes, my dear girl. And she will only lead you to crisis. Unless you do as you must.__  
_  
"What should I do?" She asked.

_You have to figure that out by yourself. But beware, unless you act soon, someone else's heart shall be broken, and chaos will rein on you all._

"But I won't be doing the breaking?" Rikki questioned, fearing the worst.

_No, my dear, you won't. It will be someone very close to her._

"Close to who?"

_You- Beware, Mermaid! Behind you!__  
_  
Rikki spun around, to see a blond head pop up in the water.

"Emma! Oh, Emma, I'm so, so sorry." Rikki went up and hugged the girl.

"For what?" Emma asked, bewildered.

"For everything I've put you through. I really am sorry." Rikki grasped her even tighter.

"Um, I forgive you?" Emma said, not really knowing what Rikki was talking about.

"You shouldn't. I don't deserve it. But I promise, I will do everything in my power to make it up to you." Rikki promised.

"Uh, sure. I just came here to say that we're going to see Cleo in about 15 minutes." Emma shrugged.

"Yes!" Rikki pumped her fist in the air.

"And also..." Emma trailed.

"Yeah?" Rikki asked cautiously.

"I'm going to be staying with Ash." Emma smiled warily, as if she didn't want to, but had no choice.

"Oooh, Ash and Emma sitting in a tree! K. I. S. S. I-" Rikki got interrupted by Emma freezing her teeth together.

"That's what you get for mocking me and my boyfriend." Emma smiled triumphantly. Rikki just grunted and melted her teeth.

"So, are we going to visit Cleo or not?" Emma nudged her friend.

"Yeah, you go ahead. I'll catch up with you." Rikki motioned to the entrance for Emma to swim out. Emma shrugged and left.

"Is there anything else you can tell me? Who are you?" Rikki asked.

_You need to act quickly. Secure the past, and save the future. Look after Cleo dearly, for your sake and her own, if you don't, there will be dire consequences. I will tell you who I am... who I used to be, in time. I wish you good luck, Rikki Chadwick. Be safe._  
The voice echoed out and Rikki could hear it no more.

"Thank you..." She whispered before swimming out. She sped back to the mainland and dried herself off. She headed to the café, because she, Emma and... Bella had agreed to meet there. She entered the café, and greeted Zane with a light kiss.

"Hey Rikki!" Emma waved her good hand up and down, trying to get Rikki's attention.

"Coming." Rikki raced over to their booth, and sat next to Emma, suddenly feeling very wary and cautious of Bella.

_She will lead you to crisis._

Those words echoed through her brain.

"So, should we go?" Bella asked, smiling.

"Yeah." Emma motioned for Rikki to get up, so she herself could. Rikki stood, followed by Emma. The group exited the café, including Zane, who had shut down so he could come along. They all walked with a skip in their step, especially Rikki. She knew that Cleo would soon be out. They soon arrived at the hospital, and Rikki raced up to Cleo's room, while Emma rolled her eyes and checked in with the nurse.

"Ah, Cleo Setori. Room 207 on the second floor." The receptionist smiled; it was a different one to the one that Rikki had argued with.

"Thank you." Bella beamed and the group dashed up the stairs.

When they got there, Rikki was sitting next to Cleo, whispering in her ear.

"Wow. Uh huh." Cleo gasped, and then nodded her head. Then Rikki whispered one more thing and they both burst out laughing.

"What are you two up to?" Zane asked.

"Nothing, nothing." They both said simultaneously.

"Now, that's definitely suspicious." Emma laughed.

"So, how's your arm, Em?" Cleo asked, her voice dripping with care and affection.

"Oh, it's a lot better, thanks." She smiled, and it wasn't a lie either. It really was getting better, it seemed that every second she spent in the water, the better it got.

"That's good." Cleo smiled.

Soon, a nurse walked in, a familiar nurse.

"Anna!" Cleo shrieked.

"Hello, Cleo." She smiled kindly at Cleo and all of her friends.

"What are you here for? No blood tests I hope." Cleo grinned.

"No, I know why you can't have blood tests and I understand. I'm here to tell you..." Anna paused, putting everyone on edge.

"What is it?" Rikki inquired, even though she was very confident that she knew what the answer was.

"I've come with a message from Dr. Itona. She says Rikki is permitted to look after Cleo." Her eyes sparkled.

"YES!" Cleo and Rikki cried out in unison.

"She and I will come and talk to you about all of the rules and requirements later." She smiled softly at all of the people in the room before exiting.

"Thank you!" Cleo called after her.

"No problem." They heard her echoing laugh down the hall.

"I like Anna." Cleo said simply.

"She seems nice." Emma added.

"So, is she your nurse or something?" Bella questioned.

"Yeah, she knows Dr. Itona and asked to be my specific nurse." Cleo smiled with pride that anybody would want to be only her nurse.

"That's great!" Emma exclaimed. She was happy that there was someone to make her happy in such a dismal and depressing place.

"What have you been eating?" Emma asked.

"Now _that _sounds like my Em. I haven't been eating much. But I've been eating what Anna has given me. And the stuff Zane left." Cleo answered.

"Ah." Emma said simply.

"So, I'm getting out of here soon?" Cleo asked, her eyes filling with hope.

"Yep, tomorrow morning." Rikki smiled.

"Why are they leaving it so late?" Cleo half-whined.

"Because the doctor found out that Rikki has work." Emma grinned.

"Darn her." Rikki muttered.

"Hey, she's the one letting Cleo out of here, so be nice." Zane warned.

"Only because Rikki screamed at her and refused to give up." Emma smiled naughtily.

"Something like that." Zane laughed, and everyone laughed, except Rikki, who gave him a smack in the shoulder which was followed by a soft,

"Ow." From Zane.

"So I'm definitely getting out tomorrow?" Cleo asked, eyes glittering.

"Yep. And then you're Rikki's problem." Bella laughed.

What Cleo said next was the opposite of what Rikki was expecting. Of what any of them were expecting. No one knew what she was going to say when her eyes filled with excitement and love and she gazed at the door. Cleo moved her mouth in words that no one was able to predict.

"Lewis?"

* * *

**Just saying, BELLA IS STAYING IN THIS THING. I really like her, but I just wish that Emma didn't have to leave. And yes, there shall be more Wella for all of you Wella-lovers out there. And more Zikki. And I'll leave you to wonder about Clewis and Emash. :P I'm so mean. Lol, what was with Will's weird dream? That is a small/big part in this story, so remember Will's dreams. Oh! I'd also love to hear about who you think that voice was. I'm just saying, that voice will only talk to Rikki. And Bella is also staying friends with Cleo, Rikki and Emma.**

**And I'll _also _leave you to wonder whether or not that really was Lewis. I'd like to know who you think it is, and all of your responses to all the things I've left you to wonder about. (I know, there are a lot of them. Responses can be in review form, or PM form, or whatever way you can contact me.) See you next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7: A Heartbreaking Result

**Hey gang! That is, if I have a gang. But people have been reviewing, so I might! Here's another chapter for you guys! I can't believe it's almost Christmas! Happy not-Christmas! There's some mixed up Wella in this chapter. You'll get what I mean when you read it. I know it's holidays, so I shall try to update more, but definitely no promises, seeing as I'm actually really busy, because it's CHRISTMAS!**

* * *

Everybody gasped and swung around. All they saw was a flash of blond hair and all they heard were footsteps running down the hall.

"Cleo, I don't think that was-" Emma started.

"I know what you're going to say! It was him! I know it was!" Cleo spoke out angrily.

"Cleo, you might want to believe that, but he's in America, do you really think he could be here?" Emma asked, putting her hands in her hips.

"Whatever you say..." Cleo said dejectedly, slumping back into her stark white hospital bed.

"Cleo, don't be so sad. You're getting out of here!" Rikki put two fingers under Cleo's chin and lifted it up slightly.

"Okay..." She looked down, effectively pushing Rikki away.

"Hey, could you guys leave us alone for a moment?" Rikki asked, looking to the others. They silently left the room, and Rikki looked towards Cleo again.

"If it's any consolation, I think that really was Lewis." She leant over and whispered.

"Then why didn't he come visit me?" Cleo cried.

"Maybe he forgot to get flowers." Rikki grinned.

"He's sweet..." She mumbled in response.

"Can we come in now?" Emma poked her head round the door, for she didn't like to be left out of things, much less if Rikki was in the picture.

"Sure, sure." Rikki motioned for them to come in. They came in and looked at a now happier Cleo, but then she suddenly looked sad again.

"Could I possibly go for a walk?" She looked at Rikki with pleading eyes.

"I'm not sure..." Rikki replied hesitantly.

"Please?"

"I'll go ask Anna." And with that, Rikki left the room. She paced down the hallway, asking around for Anna.

"She should be in Dr. Itona's office by now." One man said when he heard Rikki asking around.

"Thanks." And she head off into that direction. As she neared River's office, she saw Anna walking out of it.

"Anna!" Rikki called and ran up to her.

"Why hello, Rikki." She smiled.

"I was wondering if I could take Cleo for a walk?" She looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"Rikki, you know I would be the first one to let her do that... but since she's getting out tomorrow morning, I don't think it's what's best for her." Anna said with a sympathetic smile.

"I understand." Rikki looked down dejectedly.

"But I can do something." Anna leant over and whispered.

"What?"

"I can let you in as early as possible- before visiting hours to take her." She looked around, making sure no one but them could hear.

"How early?" Rikki asked, her eyes filled with excitement.

"How does six-thirty sound?"

"Wow." She nearly choked on her words. It was extremely early. Think about it. Have you ever seen Rikki Chadwick even lift a finger before seven? I think not.

"I think I can do it." That answer would have absolutely stunned anybody who knew her. They knew she'd sneak into a hospital, definitely. But get up before seven!? That's crazy talk! It's more than crazy, it's demented! Anyway.

"It's a deal." Anna laughed and shook hands with the girl.

* * *

Rikki groaned. She was sitting at the café, with a stack of papers that was too high off the ground to be appreciated.

"Why does running a café require this much paperwork? And why do I have to do it?" She questioned to thin air, which happened to be Zane.

"Because I have to serve drinks out here." Zane came in, laughing.

"I'm just tired." She moaned.

"Why don't you take a break? Go spend some time with Emma?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No, I'm fine." Rikki shook her head. Firstly, she really did think she was fine, and secondly, whenever she saw or thought about Emma, it made her feel so guilty. She walked out of the office, taking the stack of papers with her. She sat down at a booth and started humming as she worked. Zane smiled at the sight of Rikki being so lively. Her happy mood was infectious and soon he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Zane, what made you so happy?" Sophie came up to him.

"I don't really know." He said, still smiling. She shrugged and served more customers at the other side of the room. Seeing as he didn't have any work to do, he walked over to Rikki and peered over her shoulder.

"There's no need to spy on me. You can just say hi, you know." She remarked, not looking up from her work.

"I'm not spying." Zane said in his defence.

"Oh really?" She raised her eyebrows in amusement, but she was still gazing at the paper before her.

"Yep." He sat down and put his arm around her. She tensed.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice dripping with concern.

"Oh, it's nothing. You just reminded me of Cleo. What am I going to do?" She cried. Sophie looked over to the two and frowned. She wanted to be with Zane, but there was a big problem called Rikki standing in the way. She just gritted her teeth and stomped over to the next customer.

"I have an idea..." Zane whispered into Rikki's ear.

* * *

Cleo looked above her to the clock. She sighed. She heard footsteps coming closer from down the hall.

"Hey Anna." Cleo greeted the kind woman flatly.

"What's wrong?" She asked, taking a seat next to the saddened girl.

"I just wish my friends were here." She sighed.

"You know we had to send them home."

"I know, but they just mean so much to me." She said sadly and looked down to her unmoving legs.

"Cleo, don't focus on your injuries. How about we play a game?" Anna suggested. Cleo looked back up at her.

"What type of game?" She asked.

"Any game you want." Anna smiled.

"No paper games." Cleo said frustratedly. She had no idea how long it would be until she would be able to play paper games, or write for that matter with her broken wrist. Or use her powers. Or do any number of small things that any of the girls would be able to do.

"No paper games, but there's lots of other things we can play." Anna got up and searched the room.

"Guess Who?" She asked, brining a colourful box out of the cupboard.

"Sure." Cleo agreed. Anna sat back down and lifted the lid off the box.

"Oh no, one of the sets is missing. We can't play this." She said with a sigh and returned the box to where she found it. While she was there, she picked up another game and grinned broadly.

"Cluedo?"

"Okay." Cleo replied.

Cleo took the game away from her when she was close enough, and set it down on the bed.

"Let's get this show on the road." Anna smiled.

"I'll make sure to win, don't worry." Cleo reassured her with a slightly menacing smile.

* * *

Bella sat staring out to the waves. She had been like that for hours, but she didn't know how many. Blond strands of hair flitted across her face as the wind blew in her direction. She sighed. Her feet dug their way deeper into the sand, massaging it between her toes. She traced her fingers through the sand, making bizarre shapes that seemed to have no meaning.

"Hey."

She spun around to see Will standing above her.

"Hey." She replied flatly, not bothering to run or to even say anything else. Because actions and words were based on feeling, and at that moment she felt nothing.

"I had a dream about you." He sat down, not know what else to say or do.

"Worst pick-up line ever." Her eyes never left the shoreline.

"You're funny, you know that?"

"Whatever." She said quietly, then sighed.

"Hey, what's wrong? I'm actually pretty surprised you didn't run away at the sight of me." He placed his hand on top of hers. She yanked her hand away, a look of repulsion flashing across her face before being replaced by emptiness.

"Bella..." He trailed off and looked at the girl helplessly.

"I'm fine."

"What?" He asked.

"You asked me a question. My answer is: I'm fine." She replied, eyeing a crab that was scuttling away from a seagull down by the sand.

"Oh." He said simply, not knowing what else to reply with.

"What was your dream about?" She asked.

"Oh, you really don't want to know." He said with slight dread in his voice. She snorted.

"Typical. You tell me something happened, and then when I ask about it, you don't tell me a single thing."

"No, it's not like that. It's because the dream... it was more like a nightmare." He said the last part quietly.

"And I want to know what this oh-so-_frightening _nightmare was about." She said, but with less coldness to her voice.

"Well, there was this weird girl with straight blond hair-"

"Emma." Bella interrupted him. Suddenly, it clicked for Will.

_Flashback_

"If you're sure..." She sat down next to him on the couch.

"So, how are you?" He asked.

"Oh, stressed over Cleo and Emma." Bella sighed heavily.

"Emma?" He inquired with a questioning look on his face.

"She was friends with Cleo and Rikki before we came along. Oh, and she's a mermaid as well, and she transformed with them. You really should meet her."

_End of Flashback_

"I wonder how Emma got into your dream. You must have seen her before." Bella suggested.

"Maybe." He said, but it was very unlikely. But that left the question, how did the girl get into his dream?

"How is Cleo?" Will asked, hoping that maybe she would talk more freely if it were about her friends.

"She seems fairly happy for someone who's stuck in a hospital." She paused. "Which me brings me to the subject, why didn't you visit her?"

"Sophie-"

"Oh yeah, it's always Sophie's fault. Liar." She accused. He was quite taken aback. Bella didn't seem quite in her right mind, she seemed almost confused, but he never thought she'd accuse him of lying.

"You could have found time." She spoke up again. "You can always find time to go see your friends. You can always find time to see me. So you could've found time to see her."

He listened, and realised she was right. He could have found time. He always had time to see Bella.

_But that's because she's so much more to me than that._ He thought. He sighed.

"So, how are you?" He asked awkwardly.

"I'm fine." She answered with the same response she had before.

"Could you, erm, expand on that?"

"Let's see, I've had one of my best friends terribly injured, made another best friend and then found out she was injured too, I kissed my best guy friend, how do you think I feel, Will?" She asked with fake sweetness.

"Confused and messed up." He answered.

"That pretty much sums up my whole life up to this point."

"Wait, I'm your best guy friend?" He asked, realising what she had said.

"Who else do you think it would be? Zane? No way. Nate? In his dreams, in my nightmares." She rolled her eyes, but still didn't look at him.

"Well, thanks." He said, unsure of himself.

"Nothing to be thankful for." She shrugged. She began tracing things in the sand again.

"Bella, I was wondering if we could talk about..."

"Mermaids? Leprechauns? The tooth fairy? Be more specific, Will." She almost scolded.

"I was wondering if we could talk about..." He trailed off again.

"The kiss? Us, as a couple?" She guessed again, and was 100% right.

"Well, yeah." He said quietly.

"There is no us, Will. And if there is no us, there is nothing to discuss." She said matter-of-factly.

"But-"

"But nothing, Will." She interrupted him. She traced her hand in the sand again.

"What are you drawing now?" He asked, a defeated tone to his voice.

"Look. This is why we can't be a couple." She gestured down to the sand, where it said:

Rikki Chadwick

Will Benjamin

With a heart traced around it. Will looked at it.

"Bella, I don't feel this way about her, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't feel this way about me!" He exclaimed, turning to face her. And finally, she turned to look him in the eyes.

"She might not feel the way you do, but I know that you have feelings for her and that we cannot be together." She said firmly.

"I don't feel that way about her! I feel that way about you!"

"No you don't, Will! That stupid kiss planted thoughts in your head that weren't yours!" She cried.

"Bella, I really, really like you, going on the verge of head-over-heels crazy for you. And I've felt like this for a long time."

She sat there, stunned. She looked into his eyes, searching for a trace of lies. She didn't find any. Will looked down on the sand, wiped Rikki's name away, and wrote Bella's in it's place. He turned back to the girl, who was still sitting there like a child, blue eyes wide open. He leant forward and kissed her, and she responded. She wrapped her arms around his neck. They both pulled away, smiling. But Bella's smile soon dropped, and a tear slid down her cheek.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong?" Will wiped the tear away, a concerned look on his face.

"We can't..." She whispered.

"Can't what?" He repeated, utterly confused.

"We can't do this." She swallowed. "We can't... be together."

"What?" Will felt his heart breaking. "Why not?"

"We just can't. It's too painful." She whispered, her voice cut up with tears.

"I don't understand. Don't you... want us to be together?"

"I do. I really, really do." She paused and reluctantly dropped her arms to her sides. "But it's too painful, and Sophie will be against us, and what if we fight and break up? The whole mermaid club will be against you and I will be against you, and-and I couldn't bear that." She looked down.

"But..." He trailed and thought it over. Bella seemed pretty set on this, as if she weren't going to give up. "If it's what you want." He said reluctantly.

"It is. But, we can stay friends?" She said as more of a question then a statement. She got up, brushed the sand off herself, then helped Will up.

"We can stay friends." He said as he held onto Bella's hand longer than he ought to for just being friends.

"Friends." Bella extended her hand.

"Friends." Will reluctantly shook it, sealing his fate. Then the two walked away, tricking themselves into thinking that this was best just so they could get some sleep that night.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! See what I mean about the mixed up Wella? Darn you, Sophie! She's against Zikki love and Wella love. :( And I know, that compared to a lot of my other chapters, this one was short. I will be shortening my chapters to 2,000-3,500 words. Just to let you know. Okay, I don't think I have anything else to say. Uhh, I hope you enjoyed, please review, it would make my day, and keep reading. Be seeing you!**


	8. Chapter 8: To Celebrate A Friend

**Whoopee! Two updates within 24 hours! I don't have really anything else to say other than that, so here's the chapter!**

* * *

Cleo woke up to Rikki grinning manically above her. She screamed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, taking deep breaths after being woken so downright freakily.

"I could ask you the same question." She breathed.

"What?"

"You're supposed to be out by now." She paused to look at her watch. "It's 6:31 already! Let's get you out of here."

"Rikki, I think you've gone a little bit crazy." Cleo shook her head.

"Just a tad." She held her fingers up to show that they were a very small space from each other.

"Why did you get me up so early?" Cleo groaned.

"I wanted to get you out of here as fast as possible." Rikki disappeared out of the room for a moment, before coming back with a wheelchair. "Here is a wheelchair for m'lady." She mock bowed to her friend.

"Ooh, fancy." Cleo giggled as she set her eyes on the padded wheelchair.

"Come on." Rikki pulled back the blankets, causing Cleo to shiver a little, so the brunette could push her legs into the wheelchair and then gently sit herself down into it. Which is exactly what she did. Rikki took hold of the bars of the wheelchair and started wheeling Cleo out of there.

"You got up before seven just for me?" She sputtered with amazement.

"You're pretty darn special." Rikki grinned. The two girls waved to Anna and mouthed the words '_goodbye_' as they made their way down the corridor. The automatic doors opened for them, filling their lungs with clean, fresh air.

"Good to be outside again." Cleo said dreamily. Then something struck her like a ton of bricks, pulling her out of her peaceful state. "Wait, where are we going to live?" She choked out.

"You'll see." Rikki let out a light and airy laugh, leaving Cleo on edge. The girl just sighed and looked out to the grey cloud of mist descending on the city that early morning.

* * *

Emma fumbled to find the annoying alarm clock which's sound was piercing her ears. She pressed her forefinger down on the button to stop the noise, but it was too late, a headache was already coming on. She groaned and flipped over in the comfortable bed. She opened her eyes dazedly, not knowing where she was. When her eyes snapped open, she wished they hadn't.

"Darn it all." She muttered. The previous night's conversations and decisions came flooding back to her. She slumped back under the covers, not ready to face the day without that little extra sleep. As she tried to even out her breathing and slow her heart rate down, she knew that getting back into the bliss otherwise known as sleep would be impossible. She opened her eyes again and everything came into focus. She groaned. She heaved herself up into a sitting position, and felt like she had been hit by a speedboat in her head.

"Ohh." She groaned, clutching her pulsing forehead. She shifted her legs off the queen-sized bed, and stood up shakily, clutching the nightstand for support while everything span. She opened her eyes again and slowly looked toward the dresser, as to not upset her headache. She saw a glass of water and took a sip. She put it back down and shuffled towards the door, trying to prepare herself for what would happen when it opened. She opened it reluctantly. Nothing. In front of her was a hallway.

"Thank the heavens themselves." She mumbled and continued down the corridor, trying not to make the slightest sound. She reached the stairs relatively unharmed, except for stumbling over a pillow or something like it. She made her descent down the beige staircase, praying for them not to creak. She made it down and walked quietly to the kitchen only to be met by the thing she had been avoiding.

"Morning!"

"_Dang it!_" She muttered under her breath.

"What's wrong?" The boy asked.

"Nothing, Zane. Just a headache." She waved him off. For the fifth time that morning, she asked, why couldn't she be staying with Ash instead of Zane? She really didn't think that Ash's parents liked her all that much. Ash and Emma had gone to ask if the former could stay one night while the apartment got released to them, but they just had to have a guest staying so the guest room was used, and they really didn't like the thought of Ash and Emma sleeping in the same room, so Emma was forced to go to Zane.

"Do you want some painkillers?" Zane knocked her out of her thoughts.

"What? No, but I appreciate the thought, Zane." She sat down in one of the metal rotating chairs down by the kitchen counter.

"So..." He started awkwardly. "How long will you be staying?"

"Does the thought of me staying repulse you that much?" She joked.

"No, it's just-"

"Zane. It was a joke." She interrupted him before he could trip over some useless apology.

"Oh, right. Funny." He let out a nervous laugh.

"Okay, since the both of us talking to each other obviously sets you on edge, I'll just-" She turned to leave before Zane interrupted her.

"No, don't go. I thought, maybe I could make some breakfast and we could talk about some things." He raised his eyebrows. She just looked at him. "Look, Emma. I know we haven't gotten along so well in the past, but we get along mediocrely now, and I don't want to turn you out on the street. Can we at least try to get through this?"

"You're right. It's a deal. But I don't think you've picked up a recipe book in your life." Emma remarked.

"Maybe you could supervise me?"

She sighed. "I'll try, but I can see now that you're a lost cause."

"Okay, first, you need to get the recipe book out." Emma instructed.

"Do you have any idea where that might be kept?"

She groaned.

* * *

Bella opened her eyes and lifted herself off the couch she had slept on the night before. She looked down at her ruffled clothes. A white, airy strapless dress with a black velvet band in the middle to be exact. She delicately walked over to the door, before remembering that it was probably better to get dressed before she headed downstairs. She dressed into a blue sundress with a floral pattern going across the waist. Then slipped into some black shoes that had slight heels to them, and headed out the door, leaving a note for her parents. She thought about strolling around town, and then looked at her watch to realise how early she had gotten up. Her watch displayed 6:42.

_I'm out pretty early for someone who doesn't have to go to school._ She mused happily, glad that they were into the holidays. She wondered where they would be if it weren't the holidays? She wandered around, gazing- or at least trying to gaze into the shops, but they were all closed. She noticed a fine mist had settled over the town, giving her a foggy feeling. She smiled, she thoroughly enjoyed her time out, it almost made her forget about... she felt like she had been plunged into ice water. Of course if she had, she would have her tail.

Her serene, peaceful and seemingly happy thought train had hit a wall. A wall named Will. She raced over the conversation in her mind (_and the one, sweet, kiss_) and stopped to remind herself that it was for the best. She would die inside if she ever turned against Will, or was an instrument in the mermaid club turning against him. It was definitely for the best. Right? She bent her head in thought and kept walking. She mulled it over and came to the conclusion that-

"Whoa!" A voice shouted out as Bella bumped into something, causing her to skid back a little.

"Are you okay?" The person- who turned out to be a boy, looked at her with a concerned face.

"Oh, I'm-" Her stomach dropped and her face paled. Standing on front of her was none other than Will.

"Bella?" He was the first to speak up after a five-minute-long silence.

"Uh, I was just here for a walk, and..." She trailed off awkwardly.

"Yeah, me too." He replied.

"Um, so, how are you?" She asked, because they were supposed to be friends, after all.

"I'm... fine." He answered.

"Good." She looked down at her shoes, as if they had gained an enormous amount of interest in the past minute.

"So, do you want to meet up at the café later?" He questioned. Bella was surprised that he had asked something like that, after it had been so awkward to face him.

"Uh, no. I'm meeting the girls at the café later. But you can come if you want?" She felt as though she had to honour or at least acknowledge the fact that he was trying, and if he was trying, so should she.

"That sounds good." He made an effort to smile.

"I'll see you there." She said, smiling with her eyes, but she couldn't quite bring herself to lift those two corners of her mouth.

"Okay. Bye." He waved awkwardly and turned away.

"Bye." She replied. After he was well out if sight, she took down the street running. After she turned the corner, she pressed against the wall, heart beating rapidly, either from the encounter with Will, or the running, she didn't know. She willed herself to calm down as she took deep breaths. After she felt her heart rate slow down, she started walking again.

She walked back down past the shops, taking time to breathe on the glass and trace a smiley-face in the condensation it left behind. She walked down the path that led to her house, and opened the door, letting the warm air linger on her skin before shutting the door and racing up to her room. She collapsed on her bed, hair spread around her, smiling.

* * *

Cleo gasped when she saw it.

"Pretty good, huh?" Rikki raised her eyebrows in amusement.

"How did you do it?" Cleo asked incredulously.

"Let's just say Zane isn't all good looks." She replied, smiling. "Do you want to go inside?"

"Do I ever!" She exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with joy that had been absent ever since she had entered the hospital. Rikki wheeled her inside, glad the girl was happy when she had so many reasons to be otherwise. Cleo looked around, eyes widening at how well her friends had thought this through.

"Do you want to go to your room?" Rikki asked, already wheeling her in what Cleo suspected was the right direction.

"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice." She laughed. They got there, and Rikki pushed the door open.

"SURPRISE!" It seemed as though the whole room erupted with noise.

"What's going on?" Cleo looked around, seeing all of her friends after they had jumped out of what seemed to be hiding places. Everyone was there: Will, Ash, Emma, Rikki, Zane and Bella.

"Surprise!" Emma stuck her tongue out.

"I think we have that established." Bella laughed.

"We thought we'd surprise you for when you got here." Rikki explained.

"Rikki Chadwick!" Cleo exclaimed, taken aback. "You were in on this?"

"Yep." She said smugly. Cleo just rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Let's get this party started!" Will cheered. Zane walked over to Rikki and wrapped his arm around her waist, while Ash walked over to Emma and put his arm around her neck, kissing her on the cheek as the party went into full swing. There was talking, laughing, dancing, arguing, (most of which was done by Rikki and Zane.) and even some water-related incidents in which both Bella and Rikki had to rush to the bathroom at least three times throughout the party. As the celebration drew to a close, the seven teens decided it would be best if they all stayed there for a while, as they were too tired to go anywhere else and found their eyes not even being able to focus properly.

Rikki curled up on a couch with Zane, while Cleo fell asleep where she was, in her wheelchair. Emma and Ash fell asleep with their backs against the wall, heads tilted so they were touching. Bella fell into an uneasy slumber, moaning and fidgeting on Cleo's new bed. Will just took a seat on one of the couches and kept his eyes open until he couldn't anymore.

* * *

Emma woke up to the sun shining brightly in her face.

_Where am I?_ She asked herself dazedly. Her eyes snapped open as she felt her headache coming back. _Ooh, right. Cleo's party._ She winced and clutched her head, making a noise that sounded like a cross between a trapped animal and a scared little girl.

_What's the time?_ She lifted her arm up and lazily looked at her watch. _1:57. Shoot! I have to meet the girls at the café!_ She stumbled to get up, but managed to bang into Ash in the process.

"Ow! Wait, Emma?" He rubbed his now-sore head.

"I have to meet the girls at the café." She mumbled, too concerned about getting there on time to be worried about her boyfriend and the injury he had just sustained.

"Emma. Calm down. Think blue. Think oceans. Think calm." He took her hand to prevent her from running off there and then. He managed to get her to take deep breaths and actually _stay in one place _for a second. "That's better. Now, if you haven't noticed, your friends are all around you."

"Ash?" She looked at him weirdly. "Are you alright? Because I don't see-" She stopped short and looked around. "Oooh." She nodded, seeing Rikki and Zane huddled up on the couch, Cleo asleep in her wheelchair, Bella had her back to them and her face to the couch, and Will, well, he just looked like he fell asleep still sitting because he was diagonally slanted over the armrest.

"You see what I mean? If you would just take a second to _calm down_." Ash laughed.

"Right." She nodded, flashing him an apologetic smile.

"Should we wake them up?" He asked.

"I don't know. Nobody ever wakes Rikki Chadwick up except the alarm clock. And even then it gets a pretty good beating." She said warily and Ash shuddered.

"Oh well, she'll just have to be grumpy." Emma stood up, clutching onto Ash's shoulder for support while her head throbbed.

"Em, are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just a little headache. Nothing to worry about." She waved him off. "You should probably go to the stables; you're late for your shift."

"Shoot." He dashed up, nearly knocking Emma over, and went out the door. She rolled her eyes at him, then tiptoed over to where Rikki slept.

"Rikki, wakey-wakey." She sang. Nothing. "Rikki, wake up." She nudged her. She rolled her eyes and got one of the pillows from the couch Will was sleeping on.

"Rikki, if you don't wake up I'm going to hit you over the head with this pillow."

Still nothing. Emma readied the pillow. She hurled it down, and just as it was about to come into contact with Rikki's head-

"I'm up." The blond groaned, sticking her hand out to stop the pillow. Rikki stood up, her eyes fluttering open as she clutched onto Emma for support.

"You awake yet?" Emma asked impatiently.

"Emma, can I talk to you for a sec?" Rikki asked, looking into her friends eyes, and Emma could tell it was serious.

"Sure." She nodded. Rikki took her aside, into the bathroom.

"What's up?" Emma smiled.

"Em... you haven't been yourself lately." Rikki said seriously.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, surprised.

"You haven't been acting like yourself. You haven't been thinking things through; you've been much more... I don't know, kind-of... me-like. I didn't know whether it was your injury, or all the craziness that's been going on, but I'm worried, Em." She replied anxiously.

"Well, I..." She didn't know what to say. "I haven't been feeling exactly myself, either." She answered truthfully.

"Go on."

"I've had this headache that's been killing me, I'm living with _Zane Bennett_, everything has changed, I got attacked by sharks in Spain, one of my best friends is in a wheelchair, I came home to find you guys made friends with a new mermaid, let's see, how would you feel?"

"You left out something." Rikki mumbled, thinking about the lockets. But luckily, Emma didn't hear. "I'm sorry Emma, I didn't realise how much this all was for you. But at least the Zane thing is only for a day. And you knew about Bella, and we thought you were fine with it..." She said, louder this time.

"I know, and I am okay with her. She's nice, but it's still a big change. You should have noticed." She walked out, ignoring the fiery mermaid's second comment. Rikki thought about it for a while, and then walked out to wake the others. After she had walked out, she realised Emma was gone. She shrugged and walked over to Zane, nudging him so he would wake up.

"Hmm, Rikki?" He opened his eyes lazily.

"Yeah. Get up." She said, walking over to Cleo and tapping her on the shoulder.

"Oh, morning Rikki." She yawned, stretching her arms out, careful not to bump her wrist into anything. Rikki laughed at her friend.

"It's not morning, it's afternoon." She notified the brunette.

"What? Did we sleep that long?" She asked, astounded.

"No, the party started at 7:25, it is now 2:23 the afternoon on that same day." She explained.

"Oh, it felt like we spent all night here."

"Tell me about it." Rikki laughed before going over to Bella.

"Bella, wake up, Bella." She shook the girl's shoulder gently. She turned around to face Rikki, and opened her eyes.

"Oh, good morning." She yawned, getting into a sitting position.

"Morning." Rikki laughed, but then explained how it wasn't morning, like she did with Cleo. She walked over to Will. She shook his shoulder more vigorously than she had with Bella, figuring that if he was anything like Zane, he would be harder to wake up. Well, he wasn't.

"Hello to you too, Rikki." He laughed, standing up, holding into the arm of the chair for the support he needed to walk and not fall over.

"Okay, that's everybody up." She smiled. Then she walked over to Cleo again, wanting to talk to her.

"Have you enjoyed your first day of freedom so far?" She asked.

"Definitely." Cleo replied. "Everything's been great."

"Glad to hear it." She walked away from her friend, and into what she estimated was the middle of the room. "Are we still on for going to the café?" She shouted out, catching everyone's attention.

"Yes!" They all yelled back.

"Good! I was wondering if we could make our way over there now?" She asked.

"Sounds like a plan." Zane came up behind her.

"Okay, let's get going!" She cheered. The seven teens slowly made their way out the door, except for Cleo who was wheeled by Bella. They all took the fresh air into their lungs, not knowing that someone would want to make trouble at the café...

* * *

**Ooh! Who's going to be trouble at the cafe? Just saying, I love Zikki and this Emma-staying-with-Zane-thing won't hurt their relationship in the long-run. And plus, it's only one day, right? MWAHAHA! Only I know! But you can find out in the next chapter! And if you review you're very likely to find out faster! See you soon, thanks for reading, and please review! :) :) :)**


	9. Chapter 9: A Trouble-Maker

The blissfully unaware group entered the café with smiling faces, and laughter that had been brought on by something Rikki had said. Though she herself, was utterly confused.

"Did I say something?" She looked at each member in turn, searching for an explanation. The group just erupted with laughter again.

"Nothing, just forget about it." Zane wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm friends with a bunch of weirdos." She muttered.

"You're pretty weird yourself, thank you very much." Cleo remarked, smiling.

"Whatever." She laughed in response, her hand lingering on Cleo's shoulder before walking over to the juice bar.

"So, what are we doing exactly?" Rikki soon rejoined them, sipping a smoothie.

"Rikki? Did you think to make any of us one?" Zane gestured to the rest of the group, looking at her in mock disappointment.

"Go make it yourself you lazy potato sack." She said airily, taking another sip from her drink. She knew what '_Did you think to make any of us one?_' Meant when Zane said it. It meant: '_Did you think to make me one?_'

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that?" He said, putting his hands on his hips and looking at her scrutinisingly.

"Whoopsie." She laughed. All the while, Will, Bella and Cleo had been watching with amusement.

"If you two would stop arguing- even though it's very cute if I do say so myself- we could get to doing what we're supposed to?" Cleo interrupted them, raising her eyebrows.

"WE ARE NOT CUTE!" They shouted in unison.

"Oh really?" She rolled her eyes at them.

"Hmpf." Rikki stormed over to a booth and sat there, arms crossed over her chest. The group just laughed and went over to join her, Bella wheeling Cleo.

"I still don't think I'm cute..." Rikki mumbled, staring at her hands, as if the word _cute_ would just magically appear.

"Okay, I was thinking..." Bella started, drawing everyone's attention. "That with her injury, Cleo shouldn't swim."

"No way!" Cleo cried, outraged. It was bad enough that she had no use of her legs and left wrist, but she had to be banned to swim too?

"Cleo, we don't know what it could do to your tail. What if it mangles it or something? Or even worse, what if you can't change back with an injury?" Bella looked to her.

"I agree with Bella." Rikki spoke up.

"Rikki! You of all people should know what I'm feeling! You love your tail!"

"Cleo, even I'd rather stop using it temporarily than lose my tail altogether." She said reasonably.

"Great, everyone's against me in this world." She whispered bitterly.

"We're not against you; we're just trying to look out for you." Bella looked at her sympathetically.

After thinking it over, Cleo agreed. She would rather wait for a little while and have her tail forever, than risk damaging it in some way. "Fine." She said reluctantly. "No swimming until my legs heal."

"Good." Bella nodded. "Second topic. Who wants juices?" She asked happily. A chorus of _Me's_ and _I want one's_ followed, and Zane asked Sophie to take their orders. The girl soon came over with five glasses, but one of them was filled with water. She made it look like she was grabbing one and accidentally knocked another over.

"Whoops!" She cried as the transparent liquid landed on Rikki's head. _That's what you get for messing with my Zane._ She thought victoriously.

"Go!" Zane pushed Rikki up. She made a split-second decision whether to go into the office or the bathrooms. She chose the bathroom, because Sophie was easily allowed in the office. (Even though she could just as easily get into the bathroom.) Rikki ran through the door with about two seconds to spare before she fell over with a golden tail. Sophie quickly gave them their drinks and rushed off before one of the group members realised what she had done was staged.

"Sophie?" Zane called to her. She came up to him with her ever-flirtatious eyes.

"Yes?"

"Could you get Rikki another one?" He asked, not really focusing on her, but on the blond girl who had just come out of the bathrooms. A relieved look swept across his face as she sat back down.

"Sure." She replied through gritted teeth, glaring venomously at Rikki.

"Are you okay?" Cleo asked Rikki with a concerned look on her face.

"Would I be sitting here in front of you if I wasn't?" She joked.

"No, I guess not." Cleo laughed in reply. Sophie came over with a replacement drink for Rikki, but little did she know, it had a little tweaking. Rikki took one sip and spit it back into the cup.

"Ugh!" She set it down on the table and pushed it away from her. "What did you put in that?" She wiped her mouth and shuddered.

"Just the usual. The fruit must be rotten." She lied and took the drink away. She had put massive amounts of pepper in it, as well as some rotten fruit from the last month's delivery.

"Zane, I _told _you to buy from a different company." She scolded him.

"I will now, don't worry." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug. Sophie frowned. Anger built up in her at the thought or Rikki hugging _her _Zane. She wondered what evil trick to pull on Rikki next. Then she stopped up short. If she kept targeting Rikki, they'd know something was up. She had to go for some of the others, but not Will, of course.

She wondered about getting at his oh-so-precious Bella... really, she was doing him a favour. That girl was a bad influence on him, and distracted him from his training. She walked over to the happy group, and as she was about to pick up Bella's empty glass, she knocked the fresh one she had prepared for Rikki all over her. And she was in the middle, so it was harder to get out. She struggled to get out, but managed to dash into the office before crashing down on the floor.

"Ouch."

Sophie ran to the door, ready to open it and finally find out what they had been hiding, but Will stopped her.

"Stop, Soph!" He cried, taking hold of her hand before she could twist the doorknob.

"Why?" She asked, puzzled.

"Because you don't want to go in there." He said, quickly coming up with a stalling technique.

"Again, why?" She asked.

"Because you just really don't and... um..."

"Forget it, Will! These girls are weird, I'm telling you!" She opened the door...

Will blocked her, slipped in and slammed the door in her face before she could see anything. He swiftly locked it, and turned around to see Bella furiously wiping at her tail with a towel. He crouched down next to her.

"Hey." He said casually.

"Hi. Thanks for helping me out back there." She smiled at him apologetically.

"No problem. It's what friends do." He smiled back. "Here, let me help you with that." He took the towel from her and started drying her more effectively. He looked over the helpless mermaid as she lay there, looking anxiously at the door.

"Don't worry, it's locked." He laughed.

"Oh." She said with relief.

"This is harder than it looks." Will looked down at her tail, which should have been gone by now.

"Should I go get Rikki?" He asked, looking into her blue eyes.

"But what if Sophie sees?" She bit her lip.

"I can do things about that." He smiled mysteriously. He got up and peeked through the door. "Hey Nate!" He called, getting his attention. "Could you come over here?" He asked and Nate obediently walked over.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Hey, you see that girl over there?" He motioned to Sophie, who was serving customers and watching over the group from time to time.

"Yeah?"

"She's quite shy, and she told me she really liked you and wanted you to ask her out." He explained, nodding.

"Sophie? Really?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah, but if she says no, that's really her way of saying she really wants to, so keep trying." Will bit back laughter.

"I don't know... I mean, this is Sophie we're talking about." He said skeptically.

"Hey, doesn't the Nate Train always give out free tickets to girls who want to go on?" Will raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, it does!" He exclaimed before walking over confidently to Sophie. Will turned back to Bella, grinning.

"I can't believe you did that to your own sister." She shook her head, having heard the whole conversation.

"Now let's go get Rikki." Will made sure the coast was clear and soon came back with the blond girl.

"You non-heat mermaids can't ever seem to get it right, can you?" She shook her head in amusement.

"Hey! I dry myself off just fine!" Bella cried in her defence.

"Then why am I here? You need a babysitter so you two don't have too much fun?" She smiled mischievously.

"Rikki!" She cried, exasperated. "I would advise you to stop talking and dry me or else." She warned.

"Or else what?" Rikki teased.

"Just dry me."

Rikki rolled her eyes but obediently stuck her hand out to dry the slightly distressed mermaid.

"Thank you." She said as she hopped up. The three exited the office, Will's gaze lingering on Bella as she sat down.

"Is everything sorted out between you two lovebirds yet?" Rikki whispered in her ear.

"Rikki! We're just friends." She whispered back, embarrassed.

"It's a shame. You two would have made a great couple." At this comment, Bella punched her playfully in the arm. She just shrugged.

"Okay, so full moon tonight." Rikki said, and everyone turned to her at the mention of the full moon.

"Who's house are we staying at?" Cleo asked.

"Well, we could stay at me and Cleo's or we could stay at Bella's." Rikki looked towards Bella and Cleo as she said their name.

"Wait, shouldn't your parents be back by now?" Bella asked, turning to Cleo.

"They decided to extend their time away from home. Apparently it's good for me to learn to take care of a house and be by myself." She rolled her eyes as she said her last sentence.

"If it means Kim stays away, I say the longer the better." Rikki crossed her arms over her chest.

"Who looks after the house?" Will asked.

"Emma checks on it." Cleo laughed. "I do kind of miss Dad and Sam. Did you tell them about... this?" She gestured to her legs.

"No, we didn't know how to tell them, so we left it." Rikki shrugged but looked at Cleo apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Cleo. But you know how your dad is." Bella smiled at her with a light laugh.

"Yeah, I do." Cleo shook her head. After shaking Nate off, Sophie looked over to the laughing group, wondering who she should mess with next. Her eyes fell on Cleo- but she decided against it. She hated the group, but she felt sorry for the girl. Then she thought about it, and reached the conclusion that the only people she could target were Bella and Rikki, because she would never do anything to Will or Zane, and she pitied Cleo. But everyone knew she hated Bella and Rikki (except maybe Zane) so it would become obvious. She sighed heavily and decided to leave them alone and wait for the blond girl to come the next day.

_I think she's called Emma..._ She thought, but was unsure.

"So, are we doing the full moon at Bella's or Rikki's and Cleo's?" Will asked.

"Either way is fine with me." Cleo shrugged, looking at Bella.

"We can't really do it at my place." Bella rubbed the back of her neck. "I had to pull my mother out of the bathroom while she was brushing her hair because I got wet and now I'm not allowed to have any friends at the house for fear that you're teaching me to be rude and forceful." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on! We're not that bad!" Rikki huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No you're not. But I think the thing is that she hasn't met you before." Bella explained.

"We haven't?" Cleo asked.

"Nope." Bella shrugged.

"I imagine she's a very nice person." Will smiled.

"You... you could say that." She laughed uneasily.

"So Your's and Cleo's, then?" Zane asked.

"Zane, you're coming?" Rikki turned to him, utterly confused. Zane usually didn't take an interest in mermaid things.

"Well, I want to make sure you're safe." He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I appreciate that." She kissed him on the cheek and snuggled up to him.

"Get a room." Bella laughed.

"Hey, that's what I say!" Rikki protested.

"Whatever." She laughed in response.

"I'll call Emma to tell her where we're having the full moon." Cleo got her phone out from her pocket, and scrolled down her contacts until she saw _Emma_.

"Cleo?" A feminine voice came up on the other end.

"Hi. I just wanted to tell you we're having the full moon at the apartment and will be meeting there at 4:45." She notified her friend.

"Oh. Cool."

"Are you okay, Em? You sound sort of... one-syllable-ish." She asked.

"No, no, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Cleo. Use that worrying about yourself." She hung up and Cleo slid the phone back into her pocket.

"She's fine with it. We're meeting at 4:45. That okay with everyone? Because if it isn't, I have to tell her." She asked.

"I'm good." Will shrugged.

"Sounds fine to me." Bella smiled.

"That's okay with us." Rikki and Zane said in unison.

"Good." Cleo nodded.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Bella asked, not noticing that Will was staring at her intently.

"Will, quit staring." Rikki said in a hushed whisper to him from across the table.

"Oh, right." He said embarrassedly.

"We could at least have another round of juices. Zane, could you make them? I think Sophie's having an off day." Rikki said, scowling slightly as she said Sophie's name. Zane nodded and went over to the blender, soon coming back with five drinks. The glasses soon emptied and everyone was satisfied. The group chatted and laughed for a while longer, until Cleo spoke up.

"Guys!" She exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "It's 4:43!"

"Shoot." Rikki muttered, pushing Zane out of the booth so she could stand up.

"Hey, hey! No need to be in such a rush." He got up at Rikki's insistence.

"Do you _want _to deal with three moonstruck mermaids? Not to mention Emma, because we won't be there to let her in!" She retorted.

"Rikki, the moon doesn't rise until 6:23." Cleo said with a sweet smile.

"Oh. But still."

"Let's just go." Bella laughed. The group left and went to the apartment, to find Emma and Ash waiting at the doorstep, bored.

"Finally!" She exclaimed, jumping up.

"Hey Em." Rikki laughed, hugging her. She took a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. The seven walked in, the girls with sleepover supplies, and the boys with moon-proofing supplies.

"Let's get this place sealed." Emma said, grabbing a piece of black cardboard from Zane and walking over to the closest window.

The group moon-proofed the whole building. and Cleo looked to her watch, declaring the time.

"Moon rises in three..." She held up her fingers, displaying the number.

"Two..."

"One..."

A chill shot through each mermaid's soul, and they knew that this night would be one they would never forget.


	10. Chapter 10: Moon's Intent, Part One

**Merry belated Christmas! I really should have updated, but I was SO busy. Well, here you go!**

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Each mermaid shook off the feeling, and didn't bother to tell anyone, because they believed they were the only ones who felt it, and that it was just an overreaction because of the moon. But Rikki went over to Zane and hugged him nonetheless.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"For what?"

"For being here. I really appreciate it." She answered, snuggling into him, breathing in his familiar warmth. Emma walked over to Ash, as he had called her over.

"Yeah?" She asked, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"I have some bad news..." He said slowly, squeezing her hand.

"What is it?" She looked up to him with concerned eyes.

"Well... my parents don't like the idea of us living together, and have banned me from getting an apartment unless you're going somewhere else." He answered.

"What? That's crazy!" She exclaimed.

"I know. But we do live in a crazy world." He chuckled.

"But this means I'll have to stay with _Zane Bennett_!" She hissed.

"I know, and I'm sorry." He smiled apologetically.

"No, it's okay." She went on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll just have to go tell him." She sighed and stormed over to Zane.

"Uhh, what's wrong, Em?" Rikki asked, seeing her friend's expression.

"I need to talk to Zane for a second."

Rikki backed away, heading over to Cleo.

"I can't stay with Ash." She said simply.

"What? Why?"

"Because his parents don't like me. So I have to stay with you." She shrugged, her stormy mood degrading.

"That's okay, Emma. If you ever need somewhere to go, you can come to my place." He smiled.

"Thanks Zane." She pulled him into a hug. This surprised him, but he quickly responded. She pulled away and walked over to Bella. Rikki walked back to him with a confused look on her face- but she had a smile.

"What was that?" She asked.

"It seems like Emma will be staying with me a little longer." He answered, taking her hand.

"I see." She replied in a vague and mysterious tone.

"Is everything alright?" He questioned.

"Yeah," She laughed. "I'm just trying to freak you out."

"You're crazy." He shook his head back and forth.

"Aww, you know you love me." She punched him playfully in the arm.

"I'm pretty sure that's a well-known fact by now." He chuckled and spun her round.

"I'm pretty sure that was meant to come out as an I love you, so, I love you too." She laughed. He laughed as well and kissed her lightly.

"I can't believe you!" Someone screamed from across the room. Rikki and Zane's heads darted towards the extremely loud sound, to see Emma storming away from a shocked Will.

"What the heck happened?" Rikki asked after dashing over to him.

"I don't know! We were just talking and... she screamed at me!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms out.

"Oh no." Cleo groaned from behind.

"What?" Rikki spun around to face her.

"Moonstruck mermaids are prone to be over-emotional." She answered with dread.

"Great." Rikki muttered sarcastically. She headed over to Cleo's bedroom, where Emma had locked herself up.

"Em?" She asked, ever-cautious. "It's Rikki, I'm coming in." She slowly opened the door after unlocking it with a hair-pin, to reveal Emma sitting on the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. Rikki flew to her side in a second.

"Em, what's wrong? Do you want to go swimming?" She asked, testing for the craziness of a moonstruck mermaid.

"What kind of ridiculous question is that? It's a full moon- we can't go swimming!" She gasped in between sobs.

"Okay," Rikki said with relief. "What's wrong?"

"I just wanted to know Will better, but he said... he-he can't do that!" She burst into another round of tears while Rikki held her friend close, petting her blond hair.

"What did he say?" Rikki questioned in a soothing voice. She didn't respond, she just muttered disjointed sentences. Like, '_he can't do that..._' and '_he thinks he can go ahead and..._'

"Em, you have to tell me what he said. I don't like to see you upset."

"He thinks he can replace Lewis!" Emma finally exclaimed, wiping away the tears that just kept falling.

"What do you mean?" Rikki looked at her friend with a quizzical expression.

"He talked about how he protected you on full moons, and when you got wet. That's not his job- it's Lewis'!"

"Oh Emma." Rikki hugged her friend.

"I miss Lewis... he was such a good friend of ours, and you act as if he was never there!" She hissed, backing away from Rikki a little.

"Of course he was there. Will can and never will be Lewis, but as much as I hate to admit this- we do need help sometimes. And Will filled in that role." She explained, bringing Emma closer to her. But the girl abruptly pulled away, disbelief glistening in her eyes.

"I hate you!" She screamed and dashed out of the room. Rikki's eyes widened in surprise as she watched her best friend run out of the room. She had never expected that.

"Rikki!" Zane hurried in with a concerned look on his face. "What was that?"

"She hates me." She said quietly, getting up from her place on the floor.

"What?" Zane asked, stunned.

"She hates me. She said so herself." She replied once more.

"I'm sure that's not true." Zane pulled her in for a sympathetic hug.

"She really meant it." She muttered. "I could see it in her eyes."

"Rikki, she could never hate you. I'm sure if you go talk to her, everything will be fine." He comforted her.

"No it won't." Rikki pushed away from him and exited the room. Her eyes traveled to the corner, where Ash was trying to console Emma while she just stared at Rikki with accusing eyes.

"I've made such a mess of things." She confessed to Cleo who was sitting there with a thoughtful yet empathetic look on her face.

"_We've _made a mess of things." Cleo reminded her.

"Yeah, I just..." She trailed off. "I was always fighting with her, but I never imagined that she'd leave."

"No one imagined she'd leave. She was one of us- no, she was more than that. She was our soul sister." Cleo put a comforting hand on Rikki's shoulder.

"You're right- it wasn't our fault." She paused, a look of pure anger distorting her face. "It was _hers_! That little..." Rikki stormed out of her seat.

"Oh no." Cleo whispered. If Rikki blamed this all on Emma, they'd probably never be friends again. Cleo closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. Only there was one voice she didn't expect to hear.

"You screwed up our lives!" Rikki screamed.

"Rikki, what are you talking about?" The timid voice questioned. Bella.

"We were fine until you came along! You ruined everything for us!" Rikki yelled at her, while Bella shrunk back. "You've made my best friends see me differently! If you never came everything would be fine! Emma wouldn't be against us, Zane wouldn't be jealous of Will, and Cleo and I wouldn't have to spend our days in a delusional fantasy-world where everything is fine!"

"Rikki! Rikki!" Cleo shouted. Rikki looked over to her distressed friend. "Stop!"

"Why should I?" Rikki walked over to her. "It's all her fault!"

"No it's not! Bella had no control over what happened. She met us, we let her in." Cleo took her hand and looked at her with pleading eyes. Rikki's own filled with shock, as she remembered what the voice in the moon pool told her.

_You threw her away, when you let that stranger in._

Rikki knew the voice had been talking about Julia, but Rikki felt as though it could have been talking about Emma.

"Rikki! Are you listening?" Cleo shouted, bringing her back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm listening." Rikki clicked back into the right state of mind. "I'll stop." She sat in a chair, deflated. Bella attempted to go over to Rikki, but Cleo stopped her.

"No, don't. She's in a very fragile condition right now and really needs you to leave her alone." She said. Bella nodded and sat down across the room, away from Rikki. Will came over to her with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently, and a bit awkwardly, as they hadn't established a comfortable relationship status yet.

"I think I should be asking you that question." She mumbled in response, looking at her shoes which seemed to have gained a substantial amount of interest as of late.

"What do you mean?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"If you haven't noticed, Emma kind-of lost it." She explained, looking over to the girl who was lying in Ash's arms, trying to keep from crying while he whispered soothing things in her ear.

"Oh." He said in slight realisation. He had completely forgotten, and had only wanted to help out Bella after Rikki yelled at her. "I'm fine."

"I don't think you are." She said, still staring at her shoes.

"Enough about me," He said, pushing the matter aside. "What do you think that was all about?" He gestured to where Rikki was, sitting in silence as Cleo tried to comfort her.

"I don't know," Bella whispered, tears threatening to make an appearance. "I think we ruined their lives."

"No we didn't! And I won't let you think that." He took her hands in his.

"Whatever." She snatched them away, putting them safely back on her lap. "Apparently Emma went on some big trip and I came while she was gone. That's how I screwed up everything for them."

"You didn't screw up everything," He said, taken aback by her sudden coldness. But nonetheless, he still tried. "You're a lovely person and they wanted to be friends with you. If it's anyone's fault, it's theirs."

"That's where our opinions differ." She got up with an agitated look on her face.

"Bella, wait!" He shouted after her as she fled into another room.

"Way to go, Romeo." Ash joked, nudging him with his elbow.

"Not cool." Will replied sharply.

"Hit a sensitive spot?" Ash raised his eyebrows.

"A little bit."

"Well, if this doesn't work out you'll just have to move to Italy and change your name." He laughed.

"Again, not cool."

"Listen," He started. "It'll be fine," He gestured towards the now locked door. "Do you know how stubborn Emma was when we met? She was extremely aggravating, and look how we turned out."

"Uh huh." Will replied sarcastically, looking to the blond girl who was cradling her knees and rocking back and forth.

"Okay, right now might not be a brilliant example. But we're good the way we are, even though this whole Zane thing may change that." He laughed softly. "But listen to me when I say that you and Bella will be fine."

"I hope you're right." Will muttered.

"I am, have faith." He laughed before walking over to his girlfriend who looked on the verge of an emotional-breakdown.

"Everything will be fine." Will murmured repeatedly, hoping that if he said it enough it would become reality.

"I'm so... sleepy." Cleo yawned from across the wide room.

"Sleepy?" Rikki's head rose abruptly as she uttered the only words she had in the past ten minutes.

"Yeah..." She replied dreamily.

"You haven't by any chance looked at the moon, have you?"

"I'm not stupid. If I did, the tentacle would be trying to kill us or something... we don't get moonstruck ever since Charlotte." Cleo replied, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Good." Rikki relaxed.

"You okay now?" Cleo questioned. Rikki didn't respond.

"Great, lost in thought again." Cleo rolled her eyes as she saw Rikki's face that clearly_ screamed _attentiveness. She sighed and pulled her phone out of her pocket, attempting to once again contact Lewis, but knowing that there must be at least seventy messages lying in his phone's inbox by now. She dialled his number, waiting for him to pick up, even though she didn't expect him to. But the call went through.

"Lewis?" She gasped with hope.

"No, it's not Lewis."

"Who is this?" Cleo asked, eyes narrowing.

"Uh, Ricky Sirena."

"Uh huh," She said sarcastically, not believing it for a second. "And where is Lewis?"

"Out. Goodbye." The person hung up hastily.

"Guys!" Cleo yelled out, catching everyone's attention. Even Bella, who poked her head around the door.

"I think we may have a person who's in on our secret!"

"What?" Emma gasped and ran up to her.

"You let out secret out over the phone?" Rikki joked.

"All of you- come here and I'll tell you." She ushered for the group to come towards her. And just oh-so-_unluckily _Rikki stood beside Bella and Ash stood beside Will, so Bella and Will unfortunately just _had _to stand together.

"Okay, I was trying to call Lewis-" Cleo started.

"Still not getting through?" Rikki put a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Yeah. But when I did, I got someone else." Cleo explained.

"Who?" Bella questioned, ignoring the awkwardness and uncomfortableness that came from standing next to Will.

"Someone who says their name is Ricky Sirena."

"And that is suspicious why?" Will questioned.

"Think about it!" She cried, exasperated. "If this person knew us, there's Rikki," She gestured to her friend, "And then there's this creepy person. They obviously stole the name. And my second point, siren means mermaid. That means they knew us, are trying to cover it up, and mermaid was the first thing that came to mind when they thought about us and covering their tracks!"

"I was the other thing that came to mind when this person thought of us? I'm flattered. I obviously made an impression." Rikki joked.

"Don't get too attached." Zane held onto Rikki protectively.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Bella questioned.

"I'd like to talk to Cleo." Rikki and Emma said simultaneously then laughed.

"Okay, what do you want me for?" Cleo laughed.

"Come on." Emma wheeled Cleo over to the other side of the room.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Cleo... We have a lot of enemies these guys don't know about." Rikki caught Cleo's attention.

"What do you mean?" Cleo questioned.

"Charlotte." Rikki started.

"Denman." Emma added.

"Kim."

"Harrison."

"Some of Zane's friends."

"The person who employed Rikki and sold fish illegally, whatever his real name was."

"Eddie- your dad's old employee. But he may not know it was us."

"The list does get longer." Rikki remarked.

"I see what you mean... but..." Cleo shot a glance to Will and Bella. "They do know about most of them, they just don't know how dangerous they are."

"But that's what they need to know." Emma pointed out firmly, trying to get as close to Cleo and as far away from Rikki as possible.

"True..."

"And, when you think about it..." Emma started, waiting for the other two girls to look at her before continuing. "Charlotte could easily be this anonymous person. Think about it, she definitely knew we were mermaids, and Rikki was always being nasty to h-"

"I wasn't being nasty!" Rikki exclaimed. After a look from Cleo and Emma, she mumbled: "I was just giving her what she deserved."

"So she easily made an impression." She continued. "You two need to figure this out." Emma turned to leave.

"Why us? You can help!" Rikki cried.

"They're your friends." She snapped and hurriedly walked away, only to collapse into Ash's arms.

"Sometimes she just... argh!" Rikki exclaimed in frustration.

"Hey, you think you got it bad? I've known her since pre-school!" Cleo joked. "But seriously, she seems emotionally... traumatised."

"Sometimes you care too much about people's feelings." Rikki shook her head.

"I know." Cleo laughed. "Hey, I wonder how Pluto's doing?" Cleo said after being reminded the last time someone said she cared too much about people's feelings. It was she herself- after pointing out that Rikki wasn't very sensitive when her fish died.

"In fishy heaven?"

"Rikki!" Cleo slapped her on the arm. "Again, not very sensitive."

"Sorry. But seriously, weren't things easier before Emma left? Before tentacle, before Bella and Will..."

"Don't go down that path again." Cleo warned. Suddenly a scream could be heard from the bathroom. Rikki recognised it. As did Cleo.

"Emma!" They both screamed. Rikki hastily wheeled Cleo over, determined not to leave her there.

They arrived just in time to see Emma being dragged out of the window by the tentacle, screaming.

"Rikki!" She attempted to grasp onto her friend's hand before she disappeared.

But it was too late.

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**The next one will be very action-packed. Consider yourself warned! And don't you love the cute little friendship going on between Will and Ash in the middle of the chapter? Weird. Anyway, see you soon!**


	11. Chapter 11: Moon's Intent, Part Two

**I do not own H2O: Just Add Water. I really should say that more often.**

**Happy New Year's! Here's another chapter for you all. Taken down your Christmas trees yet? I have to admit, my family haven't. We were supposed to do it yesterday, as we had gotten a tip from my currently abroad mother that you have to take it down on or before the 6th of January. But it was totally forgotten. Anyway, onto much more exciting things...**

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"Emma!" Cleo and Rikki screamed.

"What's happening?" Zane asked worriedly. All he heard was the scream. "Where's Emma?"

"The tentacle's taken her!" Rikki cried, remembering what it was like to be in it's grip.

"We have to go save her!" Cleo shrieked almost hysterically, frantically trying to get out of her wheelchair.

"Cleo, stay there!" Bella ordered sharply, which was unlike the girl.

"We have to go get her! We have to swim!" Tears slipped down Cleo's cheek.

"You can't swim, Cleo." Will said gently.

"I don't care!" She cried out. "Rikki, help me out here? Rikki? Where's she gone?" The group looked around. No sign of her.

"She must have gone to help Emma!" Zane exclaimed, worried for the safety of his girlfriend on a night like tonight, not to mention the full moon being out.

"That's it; I have to get out of this thing!" Cleo desperately tried to push herself out of the contraption.

"No Cleo!" Bella warned.

"Stop it, you'll hurt yourself!" Will added.

"Argh! You may not care about her, but I do! Rikki was right- and I'm sick of it! I'm sick of you!" Cleo twisted her hand, not knowing the full extent of what she was doing, and had to keep from crying out in pain. The pipes started to rattle, and a snake of water came out of the tap and wrapped itself around Bella and Will, binding them.

"Cleo, go!" Zane seized the girl and lifted her up, mouthing '_Sorry_' to Bella and Will as they tried to break free. He ran out as they struggled, but all they could get out was muffled cries. Bella transformed as soon as Zane and Cleo emerged into night air. A huge wind picked up, and Zane looked down to see Cleo twisting her hand, a silent tear slipping down her face. She pushed herself out of Zane's arms with the help of the wind, landing smoothly in the black water, reflecting twinkling stars.

"Don't look at the moon!" Zane yelled as he saw her brown hair on the surface of the water.

She heard his call beneath the murky water- although it was slightly muffled. "I'm not stupid." Her head broke the surface of the water.

"Where to?" Zane questioned, not bothering to take offence from her comment.

"Knowing the tentacle, Mako." Cleo answered.

"Your tail? How does i-"

"It's fine. Let's go find Rikki and Emma." Cleo was about to go back under, when:

"Wait! How do I get there?"

"Use your brain- assuming you have one," She rolled her eyes. He looked blank despite somewhat offended. "The Zodiac!" She cried in frustration at his obvious stupidity.

"Oh." He clicked onto her thinking. "It won't be fast enough, will it?"

"Oh well. The best you've got, unless you get a tail."

He paled.

"Let's go get Rikki and Emma." She disappeared below the water. In a flurry of bubbles, she sped to Mako Island. Zane made his way to his father's private dock, which he hated to use, but his father wanted to keep an eye on the Zodiac. Zane was carefully untying the rope, when:

"Zane? What are you doing here?" He heard his father's voice behind him.

"Dad! What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to come back for a while!" He exclaimed, surprised.

"They sent me back because of a problem. Again, what are you doing?" Harrison repeated.

"Uhh, nothing. What are you doing?" He mentally kicked himself for using the lamest and most suspicious excuse in the book.

"Just checking on the boats." His eyes narrowed.

"You check on the boats at night?" Zane asked, slightly hurt. His father checked on various machines, which had no emotions, that couldn't feel pain, yet when Zane was a child, not once did he check on him while he slept. Zane knew this because most nights when he was little he spent wide awake, contemplating why he wasn't a good enough son for his father.

"Yes." His father's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"If you do that, then you shouldn't care what I'm doing." Zane said, upset. But he reminded himself that saving Emma was his top priority.

"What are you doing, Zane?" His voice rose.

"Helping a friend." He kicked the boat gently and jumped into it, curving so a spray of water landed on his father before driving off.

"Let's get Emma." He said to himself before raising the speed to it's highest point.

Cleo hurriedly sped to Mako, and saw something. Another tail. She grabbed the mermaid's hand, and the girl looked around to see Cleo.

Rikki.

Cleo pulled her friend upwards, desperate to talk to her.

"I thought you were rescuing Emma?"

"I'm trying!" She exclaimed. "But it's impossible, the moon pool seems to be sealed off somehow."

"That means we can't get to her?" Cleo questioned, afraid for the answer.

"If she's even in there..." Rikki muttered. "But no. I've tried melting it, but nothing works. I've even tried hitting it with lightening."

Suddenly, a loud scream came from Mako.

"Emma!" Cleo shrieked.

Then, the whole water in a fifteen metre radius of the moon pool froze over, making them very cold, even though the ice didn't reach them.

"She must be using her powers to fight back!" Rikki exclaimed, ignoring the sudden change of temperature.

"Come on; let's see what my powers can do." Cleo started to swim away.

"But Cleo! Your wrist! Your legs!"

"My legs- my _tail_ is fine. And the cast mysteriously broke off about the same time the pipes started rattling and a snake of water emerged from the tap." Cleo disappeared under the water. Rikki nodded without saying anything and she followed her friend. The two arrived at the moon pool, and Rikki had to hold her friend back to stop her from colliding with the barrier.

"What?" She asked.

"That's where it's shielded." Rikki answered, going under and putting her hand out.

"What is this?" Cleo went under the water, put her hand on it and ran it across the surface. It was... smooth. She went back up with a confused expression on her face.

"It's like a forcefield isn't it?" Rikki stated.

"No, it's more like crystallised water." Cleo disagreed.

"You're right..." Rikki frowned. "Whatever it is, it's keeping us from Emma. Use your powers on it and see what happens." Cleo turned and was about to vanish under the water, "But don't hurt yourself." Rikki put her hands on the girl's shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

Cleo nodded and obediently went under the water, twisting her hand. It rattled, but didn't collapse. The two girls went into open air and Cleo looked towards Rikki hopefully, wondering if that was a new repercussion.

"It did that with me too. It must have some weird weakness for our powers, but not enough to destabilise it." Rikki explained. Cleo looked down, discouraged.

"How do we break through it?" She asked, not expecting an answer, for if Rikki knew a way, it would have already been spoken and acted upon.

"Is anyone else coming?" Rikki questioned.

"Zane." Cleo answered.

"Maybe he can do something." She paused. "Let's go to the beach and wait for him. I don't think there's anything else we can do."

"Okay, he should be coming soon." Surrounded by bubbles, the two made their way to the sands of Mako. They pulled themselves up, and Rikki dried them.

"What should we do?" Cleo asked, biting her nails.

"First, you should stop doing that. Second, I don't know..." Rikki answered. Cleo obediently took her fingers away from her mouth.

"We could maybe use our powers to pass the time." Cleo suggested, trying to push the hysteria down.

"If we did that, they'd probably declare another freak storm." She said, remarking on her ability to create lightning and Cleo's to create wind.

"Just our primary powers." She rolled her eyes.

"Ah."

"Yeah, now you get it." Cleo twisted her hand and a jolt of pain shot through it. "Ow!" She clutched her hand as it throbbed. She shifted in the sand where she sat, trying to ignore the intense hurt.

"Are you okay?" Rikki knelt beside her friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She brushed the sand off herself and tried to get up, but she couldn't because of her legs.

"You sure?" For the first time in her life, Rikki looked anxious.

"I'm sure. Why are you so concerned all of a sudden?" Cleo narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Look at us, we're stranded on a remote island surrounded by sharks, it's nighttime, you're injured, we don't know what's happened to Zane, I think I have a right to be freaking out!" She answered, flinging her arms out.

"Rikki, this is Mako, it's safe for us. I'm only just barely injured, my legs don't even hurt anymore, I just can't stand, and Zane is sensible, we'll see him any second." Cleo retorted.

"You honestly think Zane is sensible?"

"He at least has some grasp of sanity when it comes to you." She answered before Rikki could say anything else.

"You think?" She asked.

"Definitely."

Rikki sat down after that.

"Rikki?" Cleo asked after a ten minute interval.

"Yeah?" Her head shot up.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you..."

"Anything." Rikki smiled, shuffling towards her friend.

"Are you okay with Emma and Zane staying together?"

"What do you mean?" She shot her brunette friend a look of confusion.

"I mean... they're _living together_." She added.

"It's fine. Nothing's going to happen. Right?" She looked at her friend fearfully.

"No, of course not! I wasn't saying anything would, it's just weird to have them in the same house for who knows how long. I mean, they used to hate each other." She looked down, remembering her past with Zane. It hadn't been very pleasant.

"Yeah, when you think about it that way. But they've established a sort-of friendship, so I think they'll be fine." She stated.

"I'm sure they will."

"It's getting harder to see you- especially with your hair." She squinted in the dark.

"You have such light hair so I don't have as much of a problem." Cleo laughed but then mentally scolded herself for laughing while Emma was trapped, probably petrified. "I also wanted to ask you something else." She re-caught Rikki's attention.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any idea why Lewis isn't in contact? Do you think he's avoiding me?" She cried.

"I'm sure that's not it at all. He'll have a reason, and it'll be a good one. He adores you, Cleo. And if he is ignoring you- watch out. You're beautiful, and I'm sure Ryan wouldn't mind seeing a little more of you." She laughed.

"But he hasn't talked to me in about..." She took a second to calculate the time. "Over a month." She said sadly. "He usually makes up excuses to talk to me at least every two days."

"I see where you're coming from..."

"You do? Oh, thanks." Cleo said sarcastically.

"Sorry." She looked at her apologetically. "I should be more supportive."

"No no, I get it. He can be pretty annoying." Cleo said with a slight sigh.

"That's true." Rikki agreed. But suddenly a look of deep thought- and almost fear passed across her face. "Where do you think Zane could be?"

"I'm sure he's fine."

"You think so?" She asked, searching for confirmation.

"It's not as if we can call him. But he'll be here any second- I promise." Cleo smiled at her friend in the fading light. "Rikki, I've had an idea. Could you do something?"

"Sure."

"Could you start up a small fire- a _small _fire- and make sure to keep it under control- so we can see each other and Zane knows where we are?" She questioned. Rikki's face lit up- even though Cleo could barely see it- at the thought of Zane arriving faster. She quickly did as she was told, and a small blaze lit up about two metres away from them.

"That's just if it does get out of control." Rikki said, remarking on the distance it was from them.

"Good." Cleo said, then smiled. "You're getting more sensible."

"That implies I wasn't sensible in the beginning." She raised her eyebrows.

"You really think you were?" She raised her own eyebrows in retaliation.

"Fair point."

"You know..." Cleo trailed.

"Yeah?" Rikki questioned, intrigued.

"I think we were too harsh on Bella and Will." Cleo said with a hint of regret.

"No way!" Rikki protested profusely.

"I tied them up in water." She admitted.

"Wow." She replied, a little surprised

"Exactly." She looked down, ashamed. "Maybe we should apologise."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to do that." Rikki said firmly and crossed her arms over her chest.

"They're our friends."

"No, _Emma _is our friend."

"Where in the world is Zane?" Cleo looked around wildly, searching for any sign of him.

"Please, don't." She groaned, thinking of all the bad things that could have happened to her boyfriend.

"Sorry." She looked at her friend apologetically. "I just can't help worrying about Emma."

"I know, and I'm worried too, but I still don't see why we should apologise to Bella and Will." Rikki stated with an agitated look on her face.

"But, Rik-"

"Nope." She crossed her arms over her chest and arched her head up in the air, giving her a superior feel.

"Look, if it was Emma we'd turned on, you'd come to your senses soon enough and go running to be forgiven!" Cleo snapped.

"Fine." She grumbled. "I'll make an attempt. A _small _attempt; remember, this is your idea, not mine, and I don't plan to act as though I'm happy with it."

"Good." Cleo said, satisfied and not wanting to continue on the topic any longer. But soon an overly-anxious look appeared on her face. "How do you think Emma is?" She questioned, her mind filling with images of her friend lying unconscious at the bottom of the moon pool.

"I don't know, but she's strong. No water tentacle can get the best of our Emma." She paused, looking nervously toward the cone of the volcano. "But, I don't know..." She looked down towards her lap, her mind also filling with images of the various tortures Emma could be going through at the hand of the tentacle. "When does the moon cross the moon pool again?"

"Um..." She glanced down to her watch, which had been programmed with all of the moon's various important timings. "Midnight."

"And what's the time now?" She questioned.

"Let me check..." She looked down to her watch once again and looked back to her friend shortly. "10:40."

"Who knows what will happen when the moon crosses over?" Rikki voiced her concerns.

"You're right. We have to get to her before then, with or without Zane." Cleo thought hard about whether or not to wait for him- it really depended on what difference he could make to the situation, and she couldn't think of anything. At all. "Rikki, I think we may have to do this without him- believe me, I'd rather us all be together, but maybe the mermaids have to do it by themselves this time."

"Maybe... but could we wait a little longer?" She looked at her friend with pleading eyes.

"Sure." Cleo smiled.

"What should we do while we wait? And how long should we wait?" She questioned, shuffling closer to Cleo for warmth.

"I don't know how long we can wait..." She trailed, knowing how cruel it would be to make Rikki go forward without Zane. And as we all know, Cleo isn't known for being cruel. "And I'm surprised we haven't been hit by the moon."

"I am too." Rikki agreed, resisting the urge to look up at it now that it had been mentioned, as she had learned to. "Maybe we truly aren't affected anymore? Well, as in being moonstruck."

"Possibly." Cleo humoured her, but truly didn't want to have a theory about it, not wanting to get her hopes up- or rather, both of their hopes up, because if Rikki knew Cleo agreed with her, it basically became fact to the girl. Except when Emma agreed with her, then it became legend. "It's getting really cold, despite your fire." She rubbed her arms back and forth in an attempt to warm herself up.

"Here." She raised her hand and Cleo started to gradually warm up, until-

"Ouch!" She clutched her right arm, where a small area of red had broken out.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to warm you up, and it sort-of..." She bit her lip.

"It's okay. How did you do it?" She questioned.

"Do what?"

"Start warming me up." She answered.

"I took the fluid just before the thin layer of skin on the top and started heating it up." She twirled a strand of her blond hair around her finger.

"That's where you went wrong." She pressed her hand over the burn, as it felt better when there was pressure applied.

"How so?" She raised her eyebrows and looked at her confusedly.

"Well, as you said- it was a thin layer of skin, and if you weren't careful, it could actually be burned completely,"

"Oh." Rikki looked at Cleo with an alarmed look.

"You need to be very careful and focused," She continued. "Also, it's best to do it over a wide area instead of a concentrated one."

"Like I did with Miriam." Her face morphed into one of understanding.

"Yep." Cleo nodded.

"How did you know all this stuff?" Rikki raised her eyebrows and looked at her friend with a questioning expression.

"Lewis taught me a thing or two." She laughed. Suddenly they heard a dragging noise. Like a boat being pulled onto the sand.

"Speaking of boyfriends..." Cleo murmured as she saw Rikki's face light up.

"Rikki? Cleo? Are you there?" He called out, but they still couldn't see him through the darkness.

"Zane! We're here!" Rikki screamed and ran blindly with outstretched arms, fire lighting after her every footstep.

"Rikki!" He ran to her after seeing fire lighting up in the distance, illuminating her relieved face, he too running with outstretched arms. They reached each other and embraced, and she buried her head into his shoulder as he petted her curls.

"I thought you were never coming." She whispered and liked up to him, the surrounding dark hiding the tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.

"I'll always come to you." He kissed her gently. "And that's a promise."

And she hoped with all her heart that he was telling the truth.

* * *

**Okay, right here and now I proclaim that I love Zikki. This Emma-now-staying-indefinitely-or-at-least-until-she-gets-a-place-of-her-own-and-Rikki-now-having-slight-suspicions-because-Cleo-was-clumsy-enough-to-voice-what-she-was-thinking has obviously set us all on edge, even me. But I adore Emash and Zikki, so nothing bad is going to happen... hopefully. And you may think that Rikki and Zane overreacted in the last bit and this may just have been me falling victim to my fluffy-I-love-Zikki-forever-side, but you do have to understand that they had been waiting _hours. _I know it seemed far more fast-paced than that, but that was on purpose, or the chapter would have spanned out forever. And you also need to understand that I have no favourite couple. **

**I know that a lot of the time the favour will lean to one or another, but that will have been how the chapter laid out. Or it will have been my paranoid self not wanting you to think I'm breaking anybody up or pairing them with anybody else. And that fire lighting in Rikki's tracks thing was a result of her strong emotion when she saw Zane and the moon being out. And this is not the final part of Moon's Intent, because I don't think that anyone should bother having chapters in a set if there are only two, and they have yet to save Emma! And also, Bella and Will shall not be outcast. Anyway, if I did that, it would be weird for the people who had only watched Season Three, because there would be no Bella, so no third mermaid that was familiar, and if that happened, they may stop reading. And plus, even though if I was forced to choose between Emma and Bella I would choose Emma, I still like Bella and she doesn't deserve to be thrown out. Anyway, I've written a long Author's Notes! Okay, I think I really need to stop typing now... **

**Zikki forever!**


	12. Chapter 12: Moon's Intent, Part Three

**I do not own H2O: Just Add Water.**

**Well, here's another chapter! I know I haven't updated in a while, and I feel like such a horrendous author for it. I honestly feel_ terrible_. But, good news for you guys! I have the next three chapter ready, and they're longer than usual! (Like, double or almost double the length,) so, _hopefully _I'll be uploading a chapter straight after this, to make up for my horrible job as an author lately. But, after that I'll be uploading every few days, to a week. For a little while, anyway. I seriously want to make it up to you guys. ****  
**

* * *

Zane put his hands on Rikki's shoulders and looked into her blue eyes, the fire casting shadows that danced across her face. "Okay, we need to go get Emma. Have you found her yet?" He looked towards Cleo who was sitting there, legs crossed as she watched the scene play out. She nodded solemnly, wondering what in the world Zane could do with the situation except place the burden on another's shoulder. "Okay, so where is she?" He questioned, giving Rikki's hand one last reassuring squeeze before taking a step away from her.

"The moon pool." Cleo notified him.

"Well, let's go." Zane took a step toward the Zodiac.

"Here, lets help you up." Rikki went to Cleo's side to assist her, but the girl couldn't get up without being carried by somebody. "Zane, you'll have to carry her to the water."

"Okay." He turned away from his boat, and to the two girls who were looking at him, the fire illuminating their bodies. He took a few steps towards them, filling up the space between them. He took Cleo out of Rikki's arms and into his own. He walked towards the water and looked down. It surged, folding over itself repetitively, almost reaching his feet as Cleo quivered from the cold.

Zane took a moment to look down at Cleo, her hair blowing in the wind, before walking into the surf and gently placing her in deep water. She went under the water before coming back up. "Now, what do you propose we do?"

"Yeah, what can we do?" Rikki stepped so she was align with Zane, took his hand, and squeezed it.

"I'd need to check it out first." He looked at Rikki out of the corner of his eye, and though she wasn't showing it, he could sense the fear she was feeling. He squeezed back.

"Tell him about the wall." Cleo looked to Rikki.

"Oh right." Rikki nodded before turning to Zane. "There's this weird wall type-thing blocking the moon pool. Neither of us could do anything, so we were hoping you could help?" She looked at him hopefully.

"Hmmm... that sounds weird, but I'll see what I can do." He smiled at her confidently, which helped her more than she dared let on.

"We have about an hour." Cleo spoke up.

"What?" Rikki and Zane both looked to her with puzzled expressions.

"Until the moon crosses over the moon pool. And who knows what could happen if it does? So I think we all agree that it's best to get her _out of there_ before that happens."

"I hope to have her out of there as soon as possible." Zane looked to Cleo then to Rikki. "Should we go? Or is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"Uhh..." Rikki scrambled to think. "No, I don't think so."

"Let's get going, then." He held on to Rikki's hand even firmer, and led her over to the Zodiac, wanting them to both go to the moon pool by boat just for the sake of holding onto her.

"Cleo, you go by water, Zane and I will go by boat." Rikki stepped onto the boat, knowing what Zane was thinking.

"Meet you there." She said before disappearing under the water, already making her way to the moon pool. Zane pushed the boat off the sand and hopped in. Rikki eyed the surf nervously, and Zane held out a hand to her. She took it gratefully, and climbed into the boat.

"Try not to get wet." He grinned before heading off at full speed. Rikki did indeed get wet, but dried it off before it could do any damage. In a matter of minutes they were at the moon pool, "So, what do we do?" Zane questioned, turning to Rikki, who was positioned so she was looking out to the water. In answer, he heard a splash, which was accompanied by Cleo's head appearing at the top of the water.

"She's just in there. It's strange; I can't hear any noise from the inside." Rikki said, frowning as she spoke the last sentence.

"Please don't make me more worried than I already am." Cleo groaned, closing her eyes.

"Don't worry guys; we'll get her." He reassured the two anxious girls.

"Thanks Zane." Cleo and Rikki said simultaneously, then smiled at each other.

"So, how do we do this?" Rikki asked.

"Didn't Zane say he wanted to look at it?" Cleo raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I did." He nodded. "So, what's this wall or forcefield or whatever about?"

"Go see for yourself." Rikki paused. "But Cleo and I have decided that it's kind of like crystallised water." She shrugged.

"Okay." He nodded before jumping into the water. Rikki tried to refrain from getting splashed, but it was no use.

"Well, this is just perfect." She said sarcastically as she transformed. She brushed the few stray droplets off her arm and got her legs back. She sighed in annoyance and leaned her elbows on her lap and rested her face into her hands. About thirty seconds later, hands clutched the side of the boat and Zane appeared, gulping deep breaths of air.

"Pitiful human breathing capacity," Rikki tutted. "It'll be the end of you."

"Oh yeah?" Zane raised his eyebrows. "Well, take this." He put his _wet _hand on Rikki's arm. She transformed seconds later.

"Thanks a lot." She muttered as she dried herself. She then smiled mischievously, stuck out her hand, and Zane cried out.

"Ow!"

"Whoops." Rikki laughed, batting her eyelashes.

"Guys!" Cleo interrupted them with an almost fierce glare on her face, but there was a hint of a smile. "Zane, what did you see down there?"

"Wait a sec." He said before heaving himself up onto the boat, where Rikki transformed once again.

"Maybe I should just stay a mermaid!" She said frustratedly and evaporated the water off herself. Then she made a fist again and steam rose from Zane's clothes. Once he was dry, he nodded to Rikki before answering Cleo's question.

"It is like crystallised water." He nodded to Cleo and Rikki. "I think maybe I could connect a hook to it and maybe that could do some damage to that shielding." He paused for a moment, in thought. "But I'd need to find a weak spot and get the hook."

"No way." Rikki crossed her arms over her front and looked at her boyfriend sternly.

"Why not?" Zane looked at her confusedly.

"It took you forever to get here; I'm not prepared to wait that long again. What if something happens to you?" She cried.

"What took you so long in the first place?" Cleo cut in, to prevent Zane from saying anything that could anger Rikki.

"I had some complications. Nothing major." He shrugged.

"Still, I don't want those... _complications _to happen again."

"It'll be alright, Rikki." He took her hand and rubbed it with his thumb. "This may be the only way to get Emma."

"No," Rikki shook her head. "No, there has to be another way."

"I'll look." Cleo offered and Zane and Rikki's heads looked to her. "I'll look again." She explained. "Come on, there must be a waterproof flashlight in that boat somewhere."

"Here." Zane fumbled to reach for the torch at the bottom of the boat and tossed it to her.

"Great." Cleo said before taking a breath of air and going under the water. She swam down to the wall of supposed crystallised water and felt around it, using the flashlight to clarify her surroundings. She re-felt across the smooth surface and still, felt nothing.

_'No, no no no no no,_' She thought. '_This can't_ _be the only way. There has to be another_ way.' She frowned and surfaced.

"There's no place to secure anything." She notified them with a sad look on her face.

"See?" Rikki said smugly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Now we find another way."

Suddenly a scream came from very close, inside the moon pool.

"We need to get her out of there!" Zane shouted.

"You think?" Cleo said sarcastically and raised her eyebrows, though there were obvious traces of worry on her face.

"I was thinking..." Rikki shot a worried look to the moon pool. "If we used both of our powers at the same time, maybe that forcefield will collapse."

"Good idea," Cleo nodded. "Let's go." She ducked her head under the water. Rikki dove in straight after her, and transformed for a fifth time that night. They swam down, their tails gently bumping against each other. Cleo held up the torch to illuminate the water. Cleo twisted her hand and Rikki curled hers into a fist, and the wall shook dangerously.

_'It's working!' _They both screamed out in thought in unison.

The wall started destabilising, and Rikki took the chance to swim towards it, but Cleo harshly pulled her back. The reason soon became clear, because the wall rebuilt itself, right in front of Rikki's face, and if she had been where she was a moment ago, it looked as though she would have been crushed.

Both Rikki's and Cleo's hearts were pounding furiously, adrenaline coursing through their veins. Cleo looked to her friend whose eyes were still wide with alarm at the close call. Cleo shook her head slowly, as if to say it wasn't going to work and they needed another battle plan. Rikki nodded and tried to compose herself, not wanting to show weakness to anybody, especially Zane, and also not wanting to alarm him that she had nearly been trapped under a magical wall when she surfaced. She allowed her heart rate to go down and the alarm and shock fade out of her eyes before returning to the surface.

Cleo watched her friend lazily and slowly swish her tail vertically to achieve those three breaths of air she surely didn't need. She did the same, and briefly wondered why it was an automatic reflex to take in air, even when one didn't need it, but quickly pulled herself away from the absent-minded thought, scolding herself because she had far better things to worry and wonder about.

"No effect?" Zane spoke up first, because Rikki and Cleo had so far remained silent.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, no. No effect." Cleo stumbled over her words like the shy awkward girl she had been one year ago, but really; it was because she was caught off guard, as she had still been in thought when Zane asked the question.

"Well, there was a sort of effect." Rikki looked at Cleo strangely, before turning back to Zane, who had a questioning look on his face.

"Mind expanding on that?"

Rikki shrugged. "It was weird... wasn't it, Cleo?"

"Yes, very weird."

"Sorry, Cleo seems a little _distracted._" Rikki shot a glare, saying she wanted her to snap out of whatever daze she was in and join that funny thing called reality again.

"What? Oh, sorry. I'm a little preoccupied." Cleo shook her head as though to rid her head of distracting thoughts and stood to attention.

"So, it sort of..." Rikki struggled to explain, thinking of how she could emit the crucial detail of how she could have been crushed.

"Want me to explain?" Cleo looked to her friend who was trying to sort out how to deftly lie to her boyfriend.

"That would be helpful." Rikki nodded with a smile, knowing that if Cleo told him what happened and left out the incident, Zane couldn't hold Rikki to anything and she didn't have to carry the burden of lying to her boyfriend. But it wasn't really lying, was it? Just leaving out part of the truth. But both Cleo and Rikki knew that was almost as bad.

"We used our powers on it, then it destabilised, but seconds later rebuilt itself." Cleo said quickly. Zane took a moment to sort the rapidly-spoke sentence out in his mind, checking he got his facts right.

"That's good to know." He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "But how do we actually get her out of there?"

"Well..." Rikki trailed, frowning. "I'm not sure."

"So, basically that means we're back to square one." Zane sighed.

"Basically." Cleo sighed along with him.

"Guys!" Rikki snapped, and Cleo and Zane's heads turned to her. "We aren't giving up, do you hear me?"

"Of course we're not giving up." Cleo swam closer to Rikki and hugged her. "We just need a new plan."

"Okay then." Rikki crossed her arms over her front, satisfied.

"Maybe we should get out of the water." Cleo swam over to the Zodiac, holding one arm up to Zane. "Do you want to help me up?"

"Sure." He took her wet hand, beads of water slipping down it as he helped her into the boat.

"Rikki? You want to come up?" Cleo ushered for her friend to come up. She nodded and scrunched her hand into a fist. Cleo transformed and Rikki swam over, sticking her hand out, just as Cleo had done.

"Uh, Rikki? Are you sure you want to do th-" Cleo was cut off as Zane heaved Rikki into the boat and a few water droplets on her body rolled onto Cleo, turning her into a mermaid, and making them both very uncomfortable as they both had tails in the small craft. Rikki groaned and dried them both off.

"Thanks." Cleo murmured.

"What's your new battle plan?" Zane questioned.

"I don't know." Rikki and Cleo said in unison.

"Hey..." An idea struck Zane.

"What?" Cleo and Rikki each tilted their heads to him simultaneously.

"Oh no, it's nothing." He waved them off.

"Okay..." Rikki was so dejected she didn't even put up a fight to know what he had been thinking.

"Guys," Rikki's and Zane's heads looked toward Cleo. "Relax. Don't worry. Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay." She smiled kindly at her two friends that had become drained after the events of that evening.

"You're just spouting your usual motto." Rikki sighed, but it ended up as an almost-growl.

"Excuse me?" Cleo raised her eyebrows, hurt by Rikki's sharp comment.

"_You're just spouting your usual motto!_" She repeated, a lot louder.

"I heard you!" Cleo shouted back.

"Girls!" Zane put his arms in between the two nerve-frayed mermaids, trying to keep Cleo from bursting into tears and swimming away, and Rikki from biting her head off.

"What?" They both answered aggressively and glared up at him.

"Stop it!" He looked at them both pleadingly and they stood down. "Our main focus is Emma. Do you think we'll be able to get her out of there with you two like this?" He looked at the two slightly accusingly.

"No..." They both looked down, ashamed at their behaviour.

"Good," He exhaled in relief. "Now, how do we get her out?"

"That question has been asked so many times tonight..." Rikki sighed and looked down.

"Hey," Zane turned his attention solely on her and tilted her chin up with his finger to look at him. "Cheer up. We'll get her, with whatever means necessary. We won't give up." He kissed her on her forehead.

"Thanks." Rikki whispered, smiling fondly at him.

"I'm going to see if there's any other way in." Cleo yawned. The three hadn't realised how late it was getting. She stood and jumped off the side of the boat, causing a splash when she hit the water.

"She won't find any." Rikki sighed and stared out to the water.

"What? She might." Zane contradicted her.

"No, she won't." She gazed down at the waters Cleo was currently occupying.

"Come here." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and brought her closer and they sat in silence. "Tell me, what's wrong?"

She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You mean besides Emma?"

"Besides Emma." He clutched her tighter.

"Not much. I'm just really," She sighed. "Really stressed out." She ran her fingers through her hair.

"You have every right to be." He looked at her, face full of concern. "Everything is so hectic right now."

"You got that right." Rikki laughed lightly.

"Cleo may not find another entrance, but do you want to know what I was thinking earlier?" He looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, sure." She sighed, deflated.

"I was thinking that- if this were even possible- maybe you could use all your powers at once on the wall thingy, the additional ones and the main ones." He said and clutched Rikki's hand. Rikki looked at him, astonished. She jumped up in the boat, making it rock dangerously from side to side.

"Thank you, Zane! That just might work!" She kissed him quickly and jumped in the water, starting to look for Cleo.

"What just happened?" Zane muttered to himself and touched his lips gently, where Rikki had kissed him.

Rikki sped through the water, frantically searching for another tail. She found Cleo at the opposite side of the moon pool, fingering a crack in between some rocks. Rikki smiled brightly and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, confused, but smiled slightly when she saw Rikki.

Rikki brought them both to the surface. "We need to go to the entrance." Rikki breathed and started swimming.

"What's going on?" Cleo asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Just follow me." Rikki took her hand and led her to the entrance of their beloved moon pool.

"My absolutely brilliant Zane had the absolutely brilliant idea of using all of our powers on the seal at once- primary and secondary." Rikki grinned.

"Actually," Cleo smiled. "That could work."

"Well, come on, then!" Rikki smiled widely as she ducked under the water, closely followed by Cleo. Once under, Cleo held up her fingers, counting down from three.

_Three. _

_Two._

_One. __  
_  
Cleo and Rikki focused all of their energy to flow out of their hands, and the wall rapidly began destabilising. It shook even more than it had done so previously, and it disappeared completely.

Cleo and Rikki waited a few minutes; they didn't want an incident like last time. After waiting, they went up to notify Zane.

"Zane!" Rikki shouted. Zane's head shot up quickly, looking at Rikki in the water with curious eyes. "It worked! The seal is gone! We can get her!"

"Yes!" Zane cried out happily and jumped in the water. He swam over to Rikki and kissed her before the three of them ducked under the water and swam into the moon pool.

When the three teens surfaced, it was a sight they weren't expecting. They had all expected her to be in the moon pool, but she was lying on the rock, unconscious and breathing heavily.

"Emma?" Cleo called out fearfully. Cleo and Rikki swam to the edge of the moon pool and watched as Zane climbed out. First, he helped Rikki out, then Cleo. Rikki dried them both off, and they ran to Emma's side.

"Emma? Emma?" Rikki said her name repeatedly, trying to get her to wake up. Cleo felt her pulse and let out a sigh of relief.

"She fine; just unconscious. She doesn't actually seem to be hurt in any way." Cleo wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"Good. We should probably get her out of here." Rikki gazed down at her friend fondly.

"Let me carry her out." Zane offered.

"Okay." Rikki nodded, stood and stepped back from Emma. Cleo did the same, and they both watched earnestly about three strides away as Zane carried her out of the moon pool. They eagerly followed him, wanting to get the unforgettable night over with.

"Ugh," Zane groaned. "I forgot it's too steep to climb up." Zane turned around to face Cleo and Rikki. "We'll have to go the underwater way."

"We'll have to wait for the moon to pass overhead, then." Cleo sighed.

"Yeah, we don't know what'll happen if we're in there when it passes." Rikki said. "Especially you." She looked to Zane and rose her eyebrows. He paled.

"Uh, y-yeah. Let's wait." He stuttered, nearly dropping Emma as he walked back into the moon pool.

"Don't drop her." Rikki warned as she walked behind Zane into the cave, followed by Cleo.

"I won't." Zane re-caught his grip on himself and Emma, before laying her down on the rock and sitting himself down on it. Cleo and Rikki did the same and the three conscious teens sat cross-legged, talking amongst themselves.

* * *

Later...

All of a sudden, the water started glistening, sparkling particles of light floating up from the surface of the water.

Cleo and Rikki knew exactly what was going on. Zane had some foggy idea, but had never seen it with his own eyes. He thought it was beautiful.

The amazing phenomenon soon finished, and Cleo and Rikki jumped in the water after making sure that it really had finished. They motioned for Zane to slide Emma in, and he did so. Cleo and Rikki guided their unconscious fellow mermaid out, and left Zane to fend for himself. They helped Emma into the Zodiac, then got themselves in it, where Rikki dried the three off.

Zane climbed in soon after, and Rikki made sure to dry him before he could make them transform again.

"Okay, are we all set?" He looked at Cleo and Rikki for confirmation.

"Go ahead." Rikki said and Cleo nodded.

Zane cranked the Zodiac up to full speed and they started heading toward the mainland.

* * *

**Sorry! I know this is a terribly written chapter, but the next ones are better, I promise. Or at least, I hope so! This chapter is so bad because I wrote it over a long period of time, and my inspiration just wasn't there. But, do you see those little fluctuations of, hmm, what shall I call it... okay, I don't know what to call it, but there are a handful of sentences that are more well written than others, but only by a little bit. That's where my inspiration kind of came back, and I knew just what to write at that time. Like this: _Cleo watched her friend lazily and slowly swish her tail vertically to achieve those three breaths of air she surely didn't need. _You see? That's a little better quality than the rest of the chapter, isn't it? Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better. Whichever.  
**

**Anyways, be seeing you!**


	13. Chapter 13: Emma's Story

**Hey guys! Like I promised, here's another chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Zane!" Emma screamed at 6:48 in the morning.

"What? What?" He entered the room in a frenzied state, his hair sticking out at places from being in bed. "Where are the chainsaw wielding robots with water guns?"

"This isn't a joke!" Emma snapped.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" He turned to the girl fully with an almost worried look on his face.

"Look!" She lifted her arm up. The bandages had disappeared, and it didn't look even the slightest bit damaged.

"What the..." He ran to the girl's side and repeatedly examined her arm.

"Did you wake up like this? Did you see it happen? What happened exactly?" He asked frantically.

"Ugh, you're as bad as Lewis."

"I take offence to that." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes.

"Wait, weren't you... er, taken, yesterday?"

"Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?" She asked skeptically, but her eyes widened as it dawned on her.

"The tentacle."

* * *

Will knocked on the door, fidgety with nervousness and anticipation of seeing Bella.

"Yes- oh, hi Will!" She greeted him cheerfully, her nose and face covered with flour.

"Uhh... Bella?" He shot her a questioning look, more because of her cheerful attitude towards him than anything else.

"Yeah?" She brushed the flour off her cooking apron- it was obvious she had been baking.

"Never mind. Can I come in?"

"Sure!" She stepped aside with a bright smile.

"Wow," He gasped, looking around the home. It was such a change from his small boatshed. "Your house is great!"

"You think so?" Bella seemed surprised.

"Well, yeah! Much better than my place..." He looked down slightly.

"No, I like your place much better." She patted him on the shoulder awkwardly. "Um, could we talk in the kitchen? Sorry, but I was in the middle of baking something."

"Uh, sure. Lead the way." He motioned for her to go first. With a small nod, she went down the corridor and they came to a room that had to be a kitchen, and she motioned for Will to take a seat while she went to the kitchen counter and rolled out some dough with a rolling pin.

"Bella, I was wondering..." Will started, intending to get it over with.

"Hmm?" She asked, not looking up from her work.

"Well, you've been acting kind of weird lately. Anything wrong?" He questioned.

"No, not that I know of," She paused. "And what do you mean by weird?"

"Just... weird. Not yourself." He explained. "Like that day at the beach, you seemed almost confused, and when Emma was taken, you were... cold."

"I don't really know what you mean." She tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"I mean-" He was cut off, because suddenly, Bella started yelling.

"I thought I told that stupid idiot that if he thought I was going anywhere near the water with him, he was wrong!" She screamed, not actually at Will, but just at the world in general.

"Bella?" He questioned, rather startled.

"Honestly, some guys need to get it through their idiotic heads that I'd never in a million years have anything to do with them!"

Will started slowly backing away, wondering what was happening.

"And I told my mother that I wasn't going to that stupid Heather Dingley's 10th birthday party, and guess what? She puts me on the guest list!"

"What the..."

"And I _told_ Will to just leave Mako _alone_, I mean, why couldn't he just believe that he hit his head? Why couldn't he leave our secret alone? I told him to leave it, but no, he just went and poured water on me! Fantastic." She seemed to have stopped.

"Bella?" He tried to cautiously walk over to her.

"I just hate people sometimes!" She let out one final burst of anger before stopping completely.

"Bella?" He inquired, wanting to make sure she stopped. She didn't answer. She just toppled down on a seat with her eyes closed.

"Bella!" He rushed to her. "Bella? Are you alright?"

"Not really..." She said weakly. "My head hurts." She complained. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Bella, are you okay?" He questioned with a concerned face.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her eyes travelling to where Will had gripped her arm tightly out of fear.

"Oh, sorry." He let go of her and took two steps back. She tried to shakily stand up, and nearly fell over.

"Careful." He helped her not to crash to the ground.

"Thanks." She smiled.

* * *

_Later..._

"Will, I'm fine, really!" Bella moaned and fidgeted out of his grip as he dragged her towards the boat shed.

"No you're not; I'm going to get this sorted out." He said firmly. He opened the door, his eyes falling upon Cleo, Rikki, Emma, Ash and Zane with anxious eyes. Well, not Zane.

"What did you call us for?" Rikki hopped off the beanbag she was sitting on and walked over to Will and Bella.

"I think something's wrong with Bella." He looked to her, a flash of concern passing across his face. He led her down to a chair, she had stopped fidgeting and just looked... blank. Wide-eyed, she placed her hands on her lap.

"What do you mean?" Cleo questioned.

"I don't know how to explain..."

"Out with it." Rikki snapped.

"Be nice, Rikki!" Cleo ordered. Rikki just crossed her arms over her chest and slumped into her beanbag.

"Her mood keeps changing, kind of. She's not being herself." He shrugged, looking over to Bella, who was still sitting there, silent.

"Examples?" Rikki said, not particularly nicely.

"Well..." He said uneasily, not wanting to explain the first time he had noticed it; the beach.

"Details, details." Rikki ushered, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently. Cleo glared at her, took her by the elbow and led her to the corner of the room, away from the others.

"Rikki? Remember our deal?" Cleo raised her eyebrows and looked at Rikki fiercely.

"Yeah... if they can prove themselves, I'll be all nice." Rikki crossed her arms over her chest.

"That wasn't our deal!" Cleo hissed through gritted teeth.

"Actually..." Rikki's eyes lit up with mischief. "Maybe it would be fun to mess with them a little..." She grinned.

"Rikki..." Cleo warned.

"No no, I think you'll like this type of meddling." Rikki smiled broadly and whispered something into Cleo's ear. Cleo smiled mischeviously.

"Okay," Cleo nodded with a naughty smile on her face. "But remember, Emma has something to tell us and we have to talk about some things."

"Okay." Rikki nodded. Suddenly, Cleo's face lit up like she had forgotten something.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "I just wanted to tell you, Sam, Don and Kim have come back, and since there's nothing wrong with me anymore," She shrugged. "I didn't think I had to tell them anything about it. So, I'll be going back to staying with them. Is that okay?" Cleo raised her eyebrows, wanting confirmation.

"Sure." Rikki nodded. "That was always the plan." She smiled and they both joined the rest of the group.

Rikki looked to Will. "Now can you explain?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to Cleo." He looked down embarrassedly.

"Uh," Cleo looked confused. "Sure."

"Okay." He led her over to the corner of the room whilst the others talked amongst themselves. He looked to Cleo again, and opened and closed his mouth as though he wanted to say something but couldn't get it out. "So..." He gestured to her legs. "I see you can walk."

"Yeah." She replied just as awkwardly.

"Um, so I wanted to talk about-"

"Last night?" Cleo cut him off. "I'm so sorry about that. I don't know what I was thinking; I hope you can forgive me-"

"Well... no. I understand what you did last night, and it's okay." He shrugged. "I wanted to talk to you about Bella." He looked down.

"Do you want advice?" Cleo raised one eyebrow and looked at him with an amused expression.

"No no!" He shook his head wildly. "Nothing like that." He exhaled. "I wanted to talk to you about her sudden mood changes... they're really weird." He paused. "I mean, you're sciencey, and Lewis undoubtedly passed down some of his mermaid research to you when he left."

"Yeah..." Cleo's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because," He raised his shoulders. "You might know something."

Cleo sighed. "I'll try." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Give me all the details."

"Well..." He began awkwardly.

"Look, I know that there's something that you don't want the others to know, or at least want the least number of people possible to know." She raised her eyebrows, knowing she was right. "So you should just tell me."

"Well... I think the first time was on the beach." He paused and thought about it. "That was the first time I noticed it at least."

"The beach?" Cleo looked at him confusedly.

"Well..." Will bit his lip. "We... sort of... kissed."

"_What?_" Cleo said in a harsh whisper. She couldn't believe Bella _didn't_ tell her that.

"Please don't make me say it again." Will groaned, eyes closed. Cleo slapped him on the shoulder, hard. "Ow! What was that for?" He rubbed the place where Cleo had attacked him.

"You sound like you're embarrassed to kiss my best friend." She scowled. "If you are, I'm honestly not sure if I want to help you." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"No!" His eyes widened with alarm and he shook his head back and forth. "No! It's just an... awkward topic."

"Okay." Cleo nodded and starting tapping her right foot on the ground. "Go ahead and explain."

"Well, she seemed confused and kind of... empty. She accused me of lying. She tried her best not to look at me." He shrugged.

"Confused? Empty? Why would she accuse you of lying, and why would she not look at you?" Cleo raised one eyebrow in question.

"I don't know." He shrugged again. "And I talked to her on the night of the full moon, and she was... well..." He looked down, before looking back up to her meaningfully. "Cold."

"All of these things you described..." Cleo tapped her finger against her chin and gazed at the ground. "They're really not like Bella."

"Yeah..." Will nodded slowly. "But what can we do about it?"

"I have a theory." Cleo looked to him with a smile. "But I'd like to discuss it with Rikki. Is that okay with you?"

"Uh, I guess." Will said awkwardly and shrugged, before shoving his hands in his pockets. Cleo nodded at him before walking over to Rikki and taking her over to a spare corner of the room.

Will walked over to Bella, trying to see if she wanted to talk to him.

"Hey Bella." He said as he sat down in a chair beside her.

"Oh, hey Will." She said, if not a little awkwardly, and looked at him with her usual kind smile, which twitched with the proximity she was to Will. He decided to proceed cautiously.

"How are you feeling?" He smiled at her.

"I'm feeling fine, thanks for asking." She looked from him to the wall in front of her, trying to avoid how uncomfortable she felt by holding his gaze.

"Do you feel dizzy at all? Do you have a headache?" He looked at her concernedly.

"No, I feel absolutely fine." She gave him one of those smiles that made his heart flutter.

"Good." He smiled back.

"Um, how are you feeling?" She asked with a kind smile on her face. This almost caught Will by surprise, but he quickly responded.

"Oh, I'm fine." He waved her off with a dazzling smile on his face. He thought for a moment. "Would you excuse me for a moment?"

"Uh, sure." She shrugged. Will walked over to where Cleo and Rikki were deep in conversation.

"She seems normal." Will said a little excitedly.

"How exactly did she act?" Rikki questioned, and seemed to be fully aware of the situation.

"She was nice, kind, and seemed uncomfortable around me. She was acting totally as she should." He nodded and smiled.

"Good," Rikki nodded. "Now, you go talk to her and tell us if anything changes. Cleo and I still have some things to discuss." She looked to Cleo who nodded and waved her hands in a shooing motion.

"Okay." He nodded and walked over to Bella, taking up his seat next to her again.

"Uh, hey Will." She looked down into her lap, playing with her fingers.

"Hi." He replied with a smile.

"I'm just gonna go... say hi to Cleo and Rikki." Both Bella and Will looked over to the two girls, who seemed to be deep in conversation again.

"Uh, well," Will wanted to keep her there, he had plans to talk with her. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second. And," He shot another look towards Cleo and Rikki. "I wouldn't bother them right now."

"Um, okay." She flashed him another smile. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I was wondering..." He looked down with a shy smile on his face. "Do you want to go to _Rikki's_ later? Maybe we could get a juice?" He looked at her hopefully.

"Will..." She looked down before returning her gaze to him. "I don't know..."

"It's okay." He beamed at her, though on the inside, he was very disappointed that he had been turned down so swiftly. "Just think about it." He pushed himself away from the table and hopped up, going over to examine one of his many marine shells and fossils.

Something inside of Bella was sad. A little voice piped up inside of her, saying: _What's the harm in a juice? You were the one who wanted to be friends_. She nodded firmly. She _had _wanted to be friends.

She set herself up to go over to him and accept his offer, but another little voice inside her decided to say what it thought. _But you don't want to give him the wrong idea. He won't thank you for leading him on._

_'That's true.'_ Bella thought. She was stuck. She knew if she accepted Will's offer, she would undoubtedly do something that was considered strange for the borderline of being 'just friends'.

But if she declined, she would be letting herself and him down, as she _knew_ he wanted to go, and there- she hated to admit it- might be a very _small_ part of her that wanted to go too. Maybe she just needed a second opinion. Her eyes flitted over to Cleo and Rikki, and she knew just where that second opinion was going to come from.

She walked over to her best friends, and both turned their heads to her, surprised. Cleo waved, and after elbowing Rikki, she waved too. But then they went straight back into their deep conversation.

"Guys..." Bella called. No response.

"Guys?" No response.

"Guys!" Still no response.

"_Guys!_" Bella waved her arms out frantically, trying to finally catch their attention.

"Yes?" Cleo and Rikki said simultaneously after turning their heads to her.

"I need your advice." She said. She looked over Cleo and Rikki repeatedly, and decided that since Rikki and she weren't on such great terms recently, she better take Cleo. "Cleo, come with me." Bella took Cleo by the elbow and started leading her across the room.

"I'm kind of in the middle of-" She gestured back to Rikki (who was scowling), before being cut off.

"I _really _want your advice." Bella looked at her urgently.

"Okay, sure." Cleo shrugged. She sat down at the table with Bella, looking at her as she waited for her friend to elaborate. Since she didn't, Cleo decided to speak up. "Okay, why do you need my help?" She questioned.

"Will." Bella breathed. Cleo raised one eyebrow.

"Go on." She ushered.

"He invited me to_ Rikki's_ for a juice, and I said no, and now I'm not sure if that was the right response." She wrung her hands.

"You think you should have said yes?" Cleo raised her eyebrows in question.

"Yes- no- I don't know!" She cried, exasperated.

"Okay..." Cleo nodded. "I think you should go." She said simply.

"What?" Bella almost shouted, vexed that Cleo was able to come up with a solution so easily.

"I said you should go." She shrugged, not wanting to her attacked by the now-provoked girl. "Look, I personally think you should go. If you think you shouldn't, you shouldn't. But it's just a fun outing with a friend, and you don't want to feel awkward around him forever, do you? And plus," She stood up and looked at Bella. "Don't want to turn down a free juice." And with that, she laughed and walked away to rejoin her lengthy discussion with Rikki.

Bella smiled and nodded. She walked over to Will and tapped him on the shoulder. Will turned around, slightly surprised.

"Uh, Bella?" He asked confusedly.

"I just wanted to say I changed my mind and that I'll join you for that juice." She smiled. "What time?"

"Uh," Will stumbled, taken aback by Bella's change of decision. "Let's say," He briefly looked down to his watch. "10:30?"

"That sounds good." Bella flashed him another smile. "I'll see you then." She kissed him on the cheek and walked away. Will stood there momentarily, stunned, and touched the place where Bella had kissed him. It tingled. Or was that just his imagination? He shook of his feverish thoughts and ranked them absurd, filing them to the back of his mind.

Then he smiled wider than most would think possible.

* * *

"What's going on with him?" Rikki nudged Cleo and pointed over to Will, who had an overly-wide grin on his face.

"He's going on a date with Bella." Cleo replied cheerily.

"What? When did that happen?" Rikki asked quickly, bewildered that these events could have taken place without her knowledge.

"Around about the time you were scowling at everyone." Cleo laughed airily.

"Oh." Rikki looked down briefly, before her blue eyes flitted to Cleo's hazel-green ones. "I guess I have been a little hard on everyone, haven't I?"

"Understatement of the century." Cleo laughed sarcastically and Rikki couldn't keep the smile off her face as she slapped her friend on the shoulder.

"Anyway, back to more important things..." Rikki smiled and wrapped her left arm around Cleo's shoulders.

"I don't think there's anything more important than seeing you realise your faults, but-" Cleo was cut off by the look on Rikki's face.

"Yeah, sure." And with that, they launched back into their, rather lengthy, conversation.

Will watched Bella from across the room with interest. He didn't know what had changed her mind. Maybe this was one of her mood switches? Will's heart sank as he thought about it. He really had wanted Bella to make the decision on her own. He strode over to her far more confidently than he felt, and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yes?" She looked up with one of her regular smiles, that Will thought dazzling. "Oh. Um, hi Will." She looked down into her lap. Will thought that maybe that didn't seem so strange, but he wanted to be sure.

"Hey Bella?" He said as he sat down next to her.

"Yeah?" She asked quietly, and looked up at him shyly.

"Um, are you feeling okay?" He asked cautiously.

"I feel absolutely fine," She smiled kindly at him before a confused look came over her face. "Why?"

"I'm just concerned." He smiled nervously.

"Well, thank you." She smiled fondly at him and put her hand on top of his. "But you don't need to be worried about me." She squeezed his hand before putting it back in her lap.

"I guess I can't help it." He shrugged.

'_That's so sweet..._' Bella thought. '_Remember, just friends. Just friends._'

"Hey guys?" Cleo and Rikki called from the middle of the room, catching everyone's attention. "We want to talk to you about something." Cleo unwrapped her arms from around Rikki's shoulders and walked over to Will.

"Keep Bella busy." She whispered. "I'm not sure it's best she knows about... this." She nodded to Will before walking back to Rikki.

Everyone gathered at the table (with the exception of Will and Bella) and directed their gaze to Cleo and Rikki.

"Firstly, Emma, how are you feeling?" Cleo asked concernedly.

"I don't really want to talk about it." Emma murmured and Ash wrapped a caring arm around her shoulder.

"We understand." Rikki reached out and put a comforting hand on top of Emma's. Emma smiled at her gratefully, but didn't say anything.

"And secondly," Cleo said seriously, feeling like Emma wanted the attention to be directed away from her, "Bella has been acting strange lately. Been in and out of various moods. She's been confused, cold, angry. And we all know that isn't like Bella."

Rikki spoke up before the wild speculation could begin. "Cleo and I think it's an aftershock of her sickness."

"The sickness you told me about over the phone?" Emma asked Rikki.

"Yeah." Rikki nodded. Cleo was momentarily confused, as this phone call had happened whole she was at work. But she soon came to that conclusion herself.

"What sickness?" Ash questioned; he was the only one who hadn't been filled in about Bella's recent illness.

"Don't worry about it." Emma told him. "It's gone now, right?" She looked to Cleo and Rikki worriedly, and then shot a look to Bella, who was talking to Will.

"We don't know. We thought it had, but since these aftershocks are happening, we're not so sure anymore." Rikki shrugged with an uneasy look on her face.

"Is it contagious?" Ash asked and clutched Emma tighter, a very worried look taking over his face.

"We don't know," Rikki rubbed the back of her neck. "We didn't get it, and we were with her every second she had it." She shot a look to Cleo. "At least I was. I made Cleo go to work."

"Let's just hope it isn't." Zane reached for Rikki's hand under the table and squeezed it.

"How long will she have these 'aftershocks'?" Emma asked and looked to Bella before focusing her gaze on Cleo and Rikki once again. "She seems fine right now."

"Yeah, she's been fine for a while," Cleo sighed. "We don't know what triggers it, or if it even has a trigger."

"There's so much about it we don't know." Rikki smiled weakly.

"Maybe we should talk about something different, then. If we've covered everything." Zane offered.

"You seem eager to move on." Rikki looked to Zane with one eyebrow raised.

"No, I just think that if we've covered everything, there's no point staying on a subject that we won't make progress on right now." He shrugged.

"Okay then." Rikki looked to Emma meaningfully. "Then I think it's time to talk about what everyone really doesn't want to."

Emma laid her head on the table. She let out something that was between a groan and a sigh, and looked back up to the group. "Well, it would probably help if you would all stop staring at me as though I'm some freak." She snapped. After a few seconds, she let out a sigh. "I'm sorry; I just really don't want to talk about it..."

"Emma, we're all here for you." Ash looked at her fondly and held her hand. "But you need to tell us what happened."

Emma let out a huge sigh. "Fine. I'll tell you."

"Whenever you're ready." Cleo said gently, and with a smile.

"Okay." Emma took a deep breath and everyone looked at her expectantly. She almost shrunk back, almost found herself at a loss for words. But that isn't Emma's style. "But I'm warning you, I don't remember much."

"Just explain as much as you can." Rikki said unnaturally gently.

"Okay..." Emma took a deep breath in and readied herself to launch into what happened that night.

_Flashback_

Emma walked into the bathroom and leaned over the sink. She took a few breaths in, but didn't realise the tentacle of water sneaking through the window. When she noticed the shimmering reflection in the mirror, she only turned around and realised what it was when it was too late.

It grabbed her legs and knocked her to the floor, and it seemed to actually _wait _until she transformed into a mermaid. It started dragging her across the floor, slowly, while she tried to grip the edges of the tiles, and her tail scraped against the edge of the bath, which really hurt. She started screaming for help and it started dragging her out faster, and when she was at the window, Cleo and Rikki came in.

She tried to clutch Rikki's hand, but it dragged her out the window. She must have hit her head on the way out, because she felt a sharp pain, and then she guessed she was knocked unconscious.

By the time she regained consciousness, she was floating in the middle of the moon pool.

She opened her eyes and tried to rub them, but her arms were fixed in place, floating out at her sides.

_Probably by the tentacle._ She thought.

Suddenly, she felt herself being raised into the air.

"Help!" She screamed. A snake of water travelled up to her mouth and covered it tightly. She tried to thrash out and yell, but no sound came out at all and she was bound tightly. She tried to struggle out of it's grip, but only managed to move slightly, which caused her pain. The tentacle set her down on the hard rock next to the moon pool, and crept close to her face, as if examining her.

"Get away from me!" She shouted and pushed the thing away. The thing obeyed her and cowered away, and Emma was slightly surprised. She suddenly felt a stinging feeling come from her tail. She winced in pain as she looked down, where red lines started about 3/4 down her tail, and at places had very small amounts of blood seeping out of them.

"Ow," She gritted her teeth in pain. The tentacle came closer, but wavered at Emma's fierce expression. It slithered down to her tail, "What are you doing?" Emma whispered. It rubbed against her tail, which stung at first, but then felt soothing because of the tentacle's water properties.

She looked down at it with a bewildered expression, wondering why in the world it was helping her when it was the one who had brought her here and caused the injuries in the first place. She shook her head and once again gazed down at the tentacle, and by now it was moving away from her and her wound.

Then, once again it was picking her up, and Emma once again tried to call for help. "Help, somebody! Help me, ple-" Her mouth was covered, as she expected.

It lay her down on the rocks again, it's actions starting to very much bewilder Emma.

The last thing she remembered was the tentacle hovering over her before she was knocked unconscious again.

_Pause_ _Flashback_

Emma stopped talking for a moment, and shut her eyes.

"What is it, Em?" Rikki asked, concern writing it's way across her face.

"Nothing, nothing." Emma waved the concerned faces off before taking a deep breath and continuing with her story.

_Resume Flashback_

When Emma regained consciousness, she was once again floating in the middle of the moon pool.

She tried to regain movement of her arms, but as soon as she did so, a bolt of pain shot through her body. _Okay, so I have no control of my body now. Nice._ She thought, as she groaned. She tried once again to move her arms and tail, and suddenly, pain coursed through her entire body.

But it was different this time. Not just a bolt of striking pain, no, this time it felt as though something was tearing her apart. Her pain grew by the second, and all she could do was let out a traumatising scream.

Tears unwillingly slipped out of Emma's eyes as she thought the pain had reached it's limit. She thought that whatever was causing this pain would tear her apart in a minimum of several seconds, when suddenly, it stopped. Relief spread through her body as her face displayed a weak smile.

But, remembering what had happened, that weak smile turned into a small frown. Whatever it was, she couldn't let it happen again. She tested her arms and found that she could move them, so she heaved herself up and out of the moon pool. After she had, she turned to face the moon pool, and stuck out her hand. The entire body of water froze over, and, she suspected, a lot more.

She smiled slightly, and set her hand back down by her side. She lay back on the rock and set her hands on her toned stomach.

She sighed as her eyes closed.

_Pause Flashback_

"Emma?" Cleo asked worriedly as she looked at Emma who had closed her eyes and starting breathing slightly heavier. "Emma, are you okay?"

"Em?" Rikki herself had began to worry as Emma didn't respond for twelve seconds.

"I'm fine," She took a brief breath in, and by the time she spoke again, her voice had risen a fraction. "Can I just get some fresh air?"

"Of course." Cleo, Ash and Rikki said in unison.

"Great." Emma exhaled and pushed her chair away from the table. She got up, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and quickly went out the front door. No one followed her, thinking that she would want her space.

Emma breathed in the fresh air, and strode out to the edge of the dock. She sat down, letting her legs dangle off the sides. She let out a breath and ran her fingers through her long blond hair. She took a deep breath in, and gazed down at the sparkling water and knew, that she would need more than fresh air to calm herself down.

She stood up slowly, and looked behind her shoulder repeatedly, ensuring that no one was checking up on her, before diving swiftly into the water.


	14. Chapter 14: Cleo's Breaking Heart

Ash walked out of the door to the boatshed, intending to see how Emma was.

But when he looked, she wasn't there.

He quickly went back inside, and Cleo looked up at him, confused to why he had a slightly worried look on his face.

"Ash?" She got up from the table and walked over to him. "Is everything alright?"

"Kind of..." Ash said uneasily.

"Kind of?" Cleo raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean, kind of?" By this time, Rikki had noticed the minor display and walked over to them, a puzzled look on her face.

"Guys? Everything okay?" She questioned.

"Apparently not." Cleo looked to her and gestured to Ash. Both girls turned to him, searching for an explanation.

"I went to check on Emma," Ash took a small breath in. "And she wasn't there."

"Wasn't there?" Rikki tilted her head to one side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It was like she had just disappeared." He shrugged with an uneasy look on his face.

"Can the tentacle still function during the day? What if it's got her again?" Momentary fear crossed Cleo's eyes before Rikki shut it down.

"Maybe she just felt pressured and went for a swim." Rikki shrugged.

"I think that's what happened." Ash said under his breath.

"What?" Both girls said in unison and turned their heads to him.

"When I went out there, I saw ripples in the water, like someone had just jumped in." He explained.

"See, she just went for a swim. Nothing to worry about." Rikki said airily, flashing a smile.

"I guess... but it would've been better if we had kept tabs on her." Cleo said uneasily.

"She really wouldn't have liked that." Rikki said quickly, raising her eyebrows at her friend. "She'll be back soon. Maximum two and a half hours." Rikki said and walked away.

"Right." Cleo muttered and went to do something on the other side of the room.

Ash just nodded, wondering what Emma was thinking right now.

* * *

Emma speeded through the water, a bright smile lighting up her face.

She stopped swimming at impossible speeds, taking a moment to enjoy her surroundings. She never wanted to get out of the water. She lay back on a mass of coral and rock, watching as her tail swished gently from side to side, bumping into the rock every few moments.

She lay there peacefully for five minutes, before lazily pushing herself off the coral bed. She started swimming again, but not at any particularly fast speed, just enjoying some time alone in the water. She glanced at her surroundings and tilted her body downwards, starting to swim toward the ocean floor.

The light streamed through, and Emma smiled as she felt it on her back. She lay on the sand, a content smile spreading across her face. She let her hands float at her sides, gently skimming over the sand. She closed her eyes and let all her worries wash away with the water.

Emma's eyes snapped open sometime later. How long had she been there? She hadn't fallen asleep exactly; she had just slipped into a peaceful state of consciousness where everything else seemed to slip away... Emma shook her head and powered herself to the surface. However long she had been there, she decided she had better start heading back. This swim had done exactly what she wanted it to do, calm her down. She looked around and realised she had swum out a little further than she had intended; a bit past Mako.

Emma slowly made her way back to the mainland, trying to remember the route Rikki and Cleo had taught her to get to Will's boatshed successfully, and without being seen. She soon began to see familiar surroundings and immediately picked up on where she was- quite close to the boatshed. In a few minutes she reached the dock leading right off Will's boatshed, and pulled herself up to see if anyone was around.

_Will really needs to get a better place for us to dry off,_ She thought. _Anyone could see us here._

She heaved herself up onto the dock, which was pretty hard considering it was a quite high up for a mermaid. She made a sound of relief once she flopped over and lay on her back, no longer threatened with toppling back into the water again. She wondered momentarily about whether or not she should try to get Rikki out to dry her off, when she heard footsteps.

Emma's body filled with panic and she had to stop herself being paralysed with fear. She hurriedly tried to drag herself over to hide on the other side of the boatshed, but the edge of her tail was still sticking out when she heard the footsteps come closer and finally stop.

"What on earth is that?" She heard Sophie murmur. The others had talked about her and warned Emma to stay away, but other than that, Emma had only seen her a handful of times at _Rikki's, _and around town. Sophie's footsteps became even louder as they came closer and closer to Emma. Emma closed her eyes and braced herself, trying to get ready for whatever was about to come.

Just as Sophie was about to turn the corner and set eyes on Emma, Will poked his head around the door. "Sophie? What brings you here?"

Sophie turned around with a smile on her face. "I came here to see how my brother was doing."

"I'm doing just fine, but I'm kind of in..." Will shot a look back into the room. "The middle of something. Do you mind coming back later?"

"The middle of something?" Sophie tilted her head and gritted her teeth slightly. Will always seemed to be in the middle of something. "What is it?"

"Just some... things." He said awkwardly, trying to brush off her venomous glare.

"Let me guess... Bella?" Sophie raised an eyebrow. Will looked down. "Oh no, it's _more _than just Bella."

Emma had to keep herself from laughing. Sophie could read Will like an open book, just by his expression.

"Let me see." Sophie pushed past Will and into the boatshed. "Oh, look! It's the whole gang of weirdos!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms out for effect. "Except you, of course, Zane." She shot Zane a smile and an adoring look, to which he responded by looking very uncomfortable and clutching Rikki tighter in his arms. Then Sophie came across something puzzling. "Hey Cleo, I thought you had a-" Rikki's eyes widened and she immediately got up and pushed Sophie out of the door.

"Okay, bye bye now. Hope to see you again sometime soon." Rikki said with fake sweetness before she slammed the door in Sophie's face.

"Expertly done, Rikki." Zane laughed. "Expertly done."

"That was too close." Rikki sighed and resumed her seat next to Zane.

Emma watched as Sophie was pushed out of the boatshed. By this time she had dried, thankfully, so when Sophie took one last glance at where Emma's tail had been, there was nothing there. So, instead of finding out Emma's secret and exposing her, Sophie stormed down the dock and out of sight.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief before hopping up and opening the door to the boatshed.

"Emma?" Cleo said after turning around and noticing her friend. "How was your swim?"

"Sorry to do the disappearing act on you all, but I just felt kind of... suffocated." She shot an apologetic smile to everybody in the room.

"It's alright," Rikki got up and hugged Emma. "I feel that way a lot." She whispered in her ear before pulling back, a smile on her face.

"And, thanks, Will." Emma flashed him a big smile.

"What did I do?" He looked around at everyone, puzzled.

"When you came out, Sophie was looking at something, right?" She asked Will.

"Yeah..." He replied, not sure where this was going.

"Well, that was my tail." Emma announced, to get a shocked look from everyone in the room.

"_What?_" Rikki asked, eyes widened.

"I pulled myself on the dock, and I was going to get you to dry me," She looked at Rikki, "But I heard footsteps and hid around the side of the boatshed. But when Sophie came up, a bit of my tail was still poking out." She shrugged. "And just as she was going to turn the corner and see me, Will saw her and got her attention." Emma finished before turning to Will. "And Will," She took a small breath in, a smile playing on her face. "You need to get a better drying system worked out. Honestly."

"I know!" Rikki exclaimed, flinging her arms out. "We're totally out in the open!"

"That's what I keep telling him," Cleo laughed. "I mean, it's great if you get wet and need a really quick escape, but coming back from a swim, we're totally busted!"

Will looked at the three girls with a embarrased look on his face. "Well, barely anybody comes here."

"Except your annoying, money-hunting big sister, who when she looks at us, wouldn't see human beings, but instead dollar bills." Rikki raised her eyebrows at him.

"I have to agree with Rikki on that." Zane walked up behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist.

"I'll try and sort something out." He shrugged with a shy smile.

"Thanks, Will." Bella looked up at him with a kind smile on her face.

"Sure." He smiled back at her.

"Emma, do you feel up to telling the rest of your story?" Ash questioned, walking over to her with a concerned smile.

Emma took a small breath in. "Sure." She walked over and took a seat next to Ash, clutching his hand under the table. He smiled at her and she felt empowered just by his very gaze. She smiled at everyone at the table and picked up where she left off.

_Resume Flashback_

By the time Emma woke up again, she could tell a lot of time had passed because the sky was much darker than before.

She looked down; the moon pool wasn't frozen anymore. She frowned slightly and stuck out her hand, ready to freeze it once more, but something stopped her.

What was that? She heard the faint sound of an engine and voices that she could only just identify as Cleo, Rikki and Zane.

Emma once again looked down at the moon pool. She smiled. They were trying to help her. Of course they were. But suddenly, a slight ripple in the water caught her eye. She backed away from the water, which she could now do because she was dry, and eyed the water carefully, watching for any more oddities.

All of a sudden, the tentacle rose up out of the water, wrapping itself around her legs, causing her to transform. It pulled her into the water, far, far down. All she could see was the deep blue of the moon pool, nothing else, not even the tentacle. She felt the water churning around her. But the moon wasn't overhead yet. She had checked that.

It knocked her against the walls of the pool, knocking the breath out of her. Her lungs were on fire. She didn't know how that was possible, she still had a good amount of time left before she needed air- she didn't actually know how long, they had never tested it properly. Flurries of bubbles escaped her mouth as she tried to scream. But no one would be able to hear her underwater.

She closed her eyes and was about to give up, when suddenly, the tentacle lifted her out and placed her on the side of the moon pool. She coughed and sputtered, realising that she had swallowed some water. She took in deep, choking breaths as the tentacle hovered above her, waiting for her to get her bearings. Once she started breathing normally again, it lifted her by the waist and placed her against the rock, in an almost sitting position.

The tentacle still hovered over her, like it was watching every move she made. She eyed it, but she was exhausted. It was all she could do not to close her eyes and fall asleep.

But suddenly, a searing pain racked through her body, like every inch of her was on fire. She gasped at the newfound pain, and sat there, paralysed, as she felt the flames course through her body. She tried to use her power to ease it off, but it had no effect.

"W-what's happening t-to me?" She gasped and stuttered as the pain poured through her body, from the tip of her head, to the bottom of her tail, and surging through her arms. The pain increased by the second, and she screamed. She thought she heard a male voice yell, "We need to get her out of there!" But her mind was filled with so much pain she couldn't focus on anything else.

She gasped and tried pulling herself into the water, but her body gave out when she reached the edge. She fell unconscious, her hand dangling over the edge of the moon pool.

_End Flashback_

"And yeah," Emma shrugged. "That's what happened."

"Em..." Ash pulled her into a hug and petted her blond hair. When he pulled back he had a weak smile on his face.

"Emma, how... how are you? After all that?" Cleo asked concernedly, putting one hand out and clutching Emma's.

"I'm fine." Emma smiled.

"How can you go through all that and be _fine?_" Rikki asked incredulously, though there were obvious traces of worry and concern on her face. "Are you sure, Em?"

"Actually, I feel fantastic." Emma smiled broadly at all the people at the table.

"Okay, just don't... don't tire yourself out." Cleo said with a caring smile.

"Yeah." Rikki smiled. "Hey, how about you go for a swim with me and Cleo later today? And then maybe we could go shopping? That'll ease your mind." Rikki grinned.

"Sounds great." Emma smiled back.

"It's agreed, then." Cleo grinned broadly at the two girls.

"Hey guys?" Bella called from across the room. "Can I talk to you about some stuff?"

"Just a second, Bella." Rikki put up one finger with a smile. Bella nodded and resumed her conversation with Will.

"Why can't Bella join this conversation yet?" Cleo asked in a hushed tone.

"She can, in a minute. There's something I wanted to talk to you guys about." She flashed look at Emma. "Emma, you said you felt a burning sensation in the moon pool after being in it?" She raised her eyebrows in question.

"Yeah..." Emma nodded slowly.

"Is anybody else thinking what I'm thinking?" She looked at the two girls, eyebrows still raised. They just looked at her, confused, for about a minute and a half, until what she was thinking dawned on Cleo.

"That Emma might have your power." She said, eyes widened slightly.

"Oh..." Emma's eyes widened as well. "I hope not."

"Why?" Rikki asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Well, it'd be great to be able to dry myself after a swim and all that, but I like my power. I think they identify who we are as mermaids. It wouldn't be very good if one of us had two, not to mention unfair. I like having just my power." She finished.

"I totally agree." Rikki nodded.

"Me too." Cleo nodded as well. "Plus, you're not nearly as hot-headed as Rikki, so it just wouldn't fit the personality as well." She joked.

"Hey!" Rikki slapped her fellow mermaid on the arm playfully.

Cleo shook her head, smiling. "I'll just go get a glass of water."

"What should I do if I _do_ have your power?" Emma asked, turning to Rikki.

"Throw away the towel you always keep under your bed." Rikki laughed. Emma smiled. Cleo soon returned with a glass of water, and set it down on the table before sitting down.

Rikki stood up, walked over to stand beside Emma, and crouched so she was at her level. "So you just..." She curled her fingers slowly, and the water began to gradually heat up.

"Okay..." Emma watched her friend nervously and bit her lip. They waited for the glass to stop steaming, so any excess steam from Rikki's display wouldn't be misinterpreted as Emma doing something. "Here goes..." Emma curled her fingers slowly, waiting for the water to do something. It didn't. She fully scrunched her hand into a fist, and the water still hadn't done anything.

"So I don't have your power?" Emma asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I guess so." Rikki shrugged.

"Try again." Cleo spoke up. "We want to be absolutely sure. It did take a while to realise that any of us even had powers."

"Okay." Emma tried six times more, and still nothing happened.

"So, I really don't have your power?" She asked, looking at Rikki. "Yes!" She exclaimed. "No offence. I mean, I bet it probably wouldn't be that bad..."

"None taken, don't worry." Rikki laughed. She turned away from Emma, and called across the room. "Hey Bella! You can come over now!"

Bella merrily skipped over to the table and took a seat. "Thanks."

By this time, Ash and Zane had dispersed and had started up a quiet conversation in the corner.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Rikki questioned with a bright smile.

"I take it you're not mad at me or Will anymore?" She tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Uh, no." Rikki said awkwardly. "I really overreacted. I was feeling really pressured and I'm sorry." She looked at her friend apologetically.

"It's okay." Bella beamed at her. "And Emma..." Bella turned to her. "What was all that about last night?"

"What do you mean?" Emma asked. "Do you mean the tentacle?"

"No, I don't. But I was really worried about you. I'm sorry I tried to stop Cleo from coming, but I was worried about her injuries." She looked down embarrassedly.

"It's okay. I would have done the same thing." Emma smiled at her. "Okay, if you don't mean the tentacle, then what do you mean?"

"Oh, sorry," Cleo cut in and looked at Emma apologetically for a moment before looking at Bella. "But I just wanted to say I'm sorry about last night and me using my powers on you. I wasn't thinking straight." She bit her lip.

"It's fine. You just wanted to go find Emma." Bella smiled. "And Emma, I mean, after you fought with Rikki, you seemed really, no offence," She gave her an apologetic look. "But you kind of kept collapsing. And you were rocking back and forth, kind of like you were... traumatised." She finished with slight dread in her voice.

"Oh." Emma said quietly. "I don't remember much of that." She looked down before fixing her gaze on Bella. "I don't know why I acted like that. Everything was hazy, and I had a really bad headache." She said uncomfortably.

"A headache?" Rikki asked. "Can you tell us about that?"

"Not much to tell, really. I woke up with a headache and it got progressively worse as the day played out, and it got at it's worst, maybe... twenty minutes after the moon rose?" She shrugged.

"Uh huh." Rikki nodded and seemed to lose herself in deep thought, a serious expression on her face.

"And there's also something that's been really bothering me." Bella spoke up.

"What's that?" Cleo asked, eyebrows raised in question.

"When Cleo was in hospital, when the nurse injected Cleo with the sleeping fluid," Bella paused and looked to Rikki and Emma. "Why did you guys freak out so much?"

"You mean you haven't _told her?_" Emma elbowed Rikki in the stomach sharply.

"Ow!" Rikki winced and rubbed the side of her stomach. "And no, we haven't. It's not something a person asks about, nor one brings up casually." She muttered.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Bella looked to the three girls with a very confused look on her face.

"I think I know what they're talking about," Cleo sighed. "Denman."

"Who's Denman?" Bella asked, puzzled.

"A very bad person who you should drown on sight." Rikki scowled.

Emma rolled her eyes at Rikki, before looking at Bella. "Dr. Denman is a marine biologist who discovered our secret with the help of Zane and his father." She explained. Bella's eyes widened.

"Zane and his dad?" She choked out.

"But when Zane found out it was us that were the mermaids, he helped Lewis break us out." Rikki added quickly. "And it wasn't just Zane's fault. Lewis was the one who left Cleo's DNA sample in the hands of that lunatic in the first place." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Not to mention his major infatuation."

"It was _not_ an infatuation!" Cleo protested. Rikki raised one eyebrow. "Okay, I guess it kind of was..."

"Yeah, Cleo was really jealous. She kept saying things like: 'was she pretty?' and 'I bet blonde isn't her natural hair colour'." Emma laughed.

"Okay, I was a little jealous!" Cleo huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Little?" Rikki laughed. "Total understatement."

"Okay, tell me more about the actual _scientist_ and stop picking on Cleo!" Bella interrupted, wanting to get to the details.

"Fine." Rikki grumbled, a small smile playing on her face.

Cleo and Emma were ready to give Bella the quick explanation of who Dr. Denman was, but Rikki decided to intervene and made it a half an hour discussion.

* * *

_Later..._

"And yeah, that's about it." Rikki finished with one deep breath.

"Wow," Bella said, eyes widened slightly. "That's quite an adventure."

"If you call almost being chopped into tiny pieces an adventure, then yes." Rikki laughed.

"Okay..." Bella said slowly, a smile flickering on her face. Rikki's watch beeped, and a bright smile spread over her face.

"I'm sorry, but we have a schedule we simply _have_ to adhere to." She grinned as she stood up.

"That's okay," Bella flashed her a smile, "I want to go home and get some stuff done before I go get a juice with Will."

"Ooh," Cleo said with a girly gasp and a twinkle in her eye, "Will and Bella, sitting in a-"

"Oh, shut it!" Bella swatted at her playfully.

"I hope you two have fun." Emma said with a mischievous smile.

Bella just stuck her tongue out at her.

"Come on, girls!" Rikki called at the door. Cleo and Emma grinned at each other before linking arms with Rikki and walking out the door.

Bella smiled after them, her eyes boring into the door they left shut behind them. Her eyes flitted to Will, who was talking to Ash, getting ready to leave. "I better get going. I'm going to sign some stuff for my new apartment." He shrugged.

"Okay, see you, then." Will waved and gave him a half-smile as Ash started for the door. Ash waved to him briefly before shutting the door behind him.

Bella walked over to Will, smiling. "I see you're forming some new friendships?"

"What?" He looked to her, confused for a second. "Oh, that. Yeah, I guess." He shrugged.

"It's good." She said encouragingly.

"Uh, I guess." His eyes flitted down to the floor before refocusing on her.

"I'm just going to go home, okay? Thanks for, er, inviting me." She smiled brightly at him.

"Uh, sure. I'll see you soon." His eyes bored into hers. "Don't forget the time."

Bella laughed. "I won't."

She walked towards the door and gave him a shy wave before leaving.

Bella breathed in the outside air and started walking down the dock.

All of a sudden, an object bowled her over and knocked her into the water.

She coughed and sputtered as she surfaced, looking up to see whatever had knocked her into the water.

"Oh, uh, sorry Bella." An agitated looking Sophie was standing on the dock with her arms folded over her chest, and an expression that looked as though _she_ was the one who had been knocked into the water.

Bella sunk a little under the water, and momentarily wondered why Sophie didn't shout or scream at the sight of her tail, when it hit her- she couldn't see it!

For once, Bella was glad of Sophie's hatred of her- or her general horrible personality- whichever was preventing her from offering to help Bella out of the water.

"I'm going to go-" Sophie gestured in the general direction of Will's boatshed before Bella cut her off.

"Yeah, you go do that." Bella closed her eyes and silently willed Sophie to go away so she could either get out of the water or call for help, and especially before Sophie spotted her tail.

"Okay." Sophie shrugged and walked away from Bella. Bella heard her footsteps get fainter and fainter, and knew she was safe for now. Instead of calling for help or pulling herself up on the deck, only to be quite vulnerable in both situations, she ducked under the water and swam away to find a more secluded spot to dry off.

* * *

A little while later, Bella pulled herself up to the shore, bringing herself only just out of reach of the crashing waves.

Bella let out a frustrated sigh as she looked down at her tail- she really did wish the drying process didn't take so long.

She lay with her hands resting over her stomach for about ten minutes or so, until the familiar tingling started and she transformed back.

Bella hopped up with a slight smile, and started running all the way to her house.

* * *

Bella opened the door to an empty house, and walked in, dumping her bag on the table as she walked in.

Bella started walking up the stairs to her bedroom, when the voice of her mother reached her ears.

"Bella, darling?" The voice made Bella jump. "Have you done that schoolwork? I want you to have something to show the teacher when you go back to school!"

Bella ran back down the stairs and into the kitchen, facing her mother's smiling face.

"Mum! You startled me; I thought I was the only one here." She smiled.

"No, I've been here for a little while now." Her mother mirrored the same smile back at her.

"Okay. Sure, I can do that." Bella shrugged.

"Thanks, honey. I want you to have something to show when school starts again."

"I completely forgot about school. I'll go start that right away." She nodded at her mother before going back up the stairs to her bedroom.

She picked up the workbook sitting on the small table next to her bed and opened it with a sigh. She studied the words on the page, not really taking it in, while her mind wandered to other things.

She flipped through the delicate and almost glossy pages, writing something down in a book that was lying on her desk. She glanced at her watch, wondering how much time this thing was going to take.

Before she knew it, her watch was beeping, alerting her that it was time to meet Will at _Rikki's_. She ran down the stairs, a smile lighting up her face.

"Bella, are you done already?" Her mother came out into the doorway, eyebrows raised.

"No, but I-"

"Bella Hartley," Her mother put her hands on her hips and looked at her sternly. "I want you to finish your work before you go see any of your friends."

"But mum-"

"Bella, you march up those stairs and finish your work!" She pointed to the stairs. "Your friends are a bad influence on you, honey." She looked at her daughter softly.

"They are not!" Bella exclaimed, unintentionally stomping her foot on the floor. "They are brilliant friends and you don't know anything about them!"

"I know what's best for you, honey. No friends until you've finished your schoolwork." Bella's mother folded he arms across her chest.

"You don't know anything about me!" Bella shouted.

"I don't care to be talked to like that, Bella." Her mother snapped. "They say things, don't they? You've been spending an increasing amount of time in your bedroom; I'm worried about you, honey." She gazed at her daughter fondly.

"You don't understand anything!" Bella shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. "You never understand anything!" She ran up to her room and slammed the door. She wiped away her tears with the back of her arm and texted Will.

**Sorry, I'll be a little late.****  
****~ Bella**

Bella flopped down into her desk chair. Her eyes darted to her phone when it erupted with Will's familiar ringtone.  
**  
****How come?****  
****- Will**

_Family difficulties_. Bella thought bitterly. She let out a small sigh and texted back.

**I have some work I have to finish.****  
****~ Bella**

**Work? I thought it was the holidays? Darn, if it isn't, Mr. Micheals is going to be so mad at me...****  
****- Will**

**Oh, ha ha.****  
****~ Bella**

**But, really. How come you have homework in the **_**holidays?**_**  
****- Will****  
**  
**I got given some work to do if I choose, and my mother wanted me to have something to show to the teachers when we go back. That and my mother is an irritating and stubborn woman.****  
****~ Bella**

**Sounds tough.****  
****- Will**

**Don't I know it.****  
****~ Bella**

**Do you want me to come over?****  
****- Will**

**My mother would murder you. Or praise you; I think she's kind of freaking out that I haven't brought any boys to meet her.****  
****~ Bella**

**You have some seriously weird family problems.****  
****- Will**

**Oh, thanks for pointing that out.****  
****~ Bella**

**Was that supposed to be some sort of attempt at sarcasm?****  
****- Will**

**Yeah. Yeah, it was.****  
****~ Bella**

**I must be psychic.****  
****- Will**

**Oh, ha ha.****  
****~ Bella**

**Hey, are you okay? I heard Sophie knocked you into the water.****  
****- Will**

**I'm fine. She didn't see anything, and her horrible persona prevented her from helping me out of the water.****  
****~ Bella**

**Is that a good thing or a bad thing?****  
****- Will**

**Good thing. Although, I do wish your sister would act a little more like a normal, human person.****  
****~ Bella**

**Well, I'm glad you're okay.****  
****- Will**

**Thanks.****  
****~ Bella****  
**  
Bella set her phone back down on her desk with a smile that was always brought on when she talked with Will. She shook her head and grabbed her workbook off the table, skimming through it and writing things down in her book.

Before she knew it, she was finished, and she marched down the stairs with a superior air, with an _I-showed-you _look as she faced her mother.

"There." She dropped the two books on the kitchen counter loudly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going out." She turned and stormed out the door.

"Bella, wait!" Her mother called after her.

But Bella had already slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Bella practically ran up to _Rikki's,_ and entered to see Will sitting in a booth.

"Hey Will!" She walked up to him with a bright smile.

"You're here?" He smiled and stood up to face her.

"Well, obviously." She smiled and gestured to herself, proving her authenticity.

"It's, um, good to see you." He said, a shy smile coming onto his face.

"Good to see you too." She laughed and hugged him tightly, which surprised him slightly.

When they pulled away, Will asked, "Do you want a juice?"

"Not just yet," Bella say down with a smile on her face and Will did the same. "I'd like to talk to you for a bit.

"Okay." Will shrugged. "Sure."

* * *

Cleo, Emma and Rikki pulled themselves out of the water with bright smiles on their faces.

"So, shopping now, right?" Rikki grinned.

"Definitely." Emma grinned back.

"Here, I'll dry you off." Rikki raised her hand.

"No," Cleo shook her head. "Wouldn't you rather just sit here and relax in the sun?"

"Yeah, I guess." Rikki shrugged, put her hand down, and lay back on the sand.

"I always thought the drying process was so aggravating." Emma laughed.

"Yeah, it takes so long." Cleo laughed with her.

"Not for me," Rikki laughed and poked her tongue out. "I have mermaid superiority."

Cleo glared at her, and a moment later, Rikki was receiving a face full of water.

"Hey!" Rikki protested as she wiped the stray water off her face. "That wasn't funny!"

"I thought I was pretty funny," Cleo stifled a laugh. "Didn't you, Emma?" She turned her head to her friend and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, definitely." Emma grinned.

"Hmpf." Rikki huffed.

After a pause, Emma cleared her throat and smiled at her friends. "Okay, while Rikki is being childish-"

"I AM NOT CHILDISH!"

"- I'd like to hear more about Bella." She finished as though Rikki had never interrupted. But this comment did catch Rikki's attention.

"Bella? Why Bella?" Rikki looked at her friend with a puzzled expression.

"I want to hear more about her. Especially this sickness thing. I only heard small details over the phone." She shrugged.

"Oh." Rikki said quietly before her face broke out into a big smile. "Sure."

"Yeah, no problem." Cleo smiled kindly at Emma. "So, what exactly do you want to know?"

"Um, everything?" She replied, shrugging.

"Err..." Rikki thought for a moment. "Okay." She took a deep breath in and started. "Well, it started when-" Suddenly, magic engulfed her body and in the next second, she had legs. This happened to Cleo and Emma too, as they had all gotten out of the water at roughly the same time.

"We'll explain later." Rikki sighed and hopped up.

"Time for shopping!" Cleo smiled excitedly, her infectious mood spreading to Cleo and Emma as they linked arms and walked away from the beach.

* * *

Rikki, Emma and Cleo practically shopped 'till they dropped. They shopped for hours, until they finally collapsed on a bench, exhausted.

"My feet are absolutely_ killing_ me." Rikki complained.

"My arms hurt." Cleo groaned.

"My _everything_ hurts." Emma moaned. Rikki and Cleo turned to her and laughed.

"I think we've done enough shopping for today." Rikki looked to her friends in question.

"Totally." Cleo nodded weakly.

"I think I'd collapse if I did any more." Emma agreed.

"Anyone up for a swim home?" Rikki turned to her friends, blue eyes glittering.

"You're totally on!" Emma jumped up, re-energised.

Rikki didn't actually mean it as a race, but there was no way she was going to turn one down. "I am _so_ going to beat you!" She taunted.

"Yeah, in your dreams." Emma scoffed.

"Yeah, well, we'll just see about that!" Rikki darted out of the mall, Emma hot on her heels.

Cleo sighed, shook her head, and laughed at her friends. "I don't think there's two hotter heads on the face of this planet." She muttered, a smile creeping up her face.

She sighed and stood up, thinking that she better go after them, that, or tolerate being picked on for being the slowest mermaid in history by Rikki.

Cleo ran out of the mall, but then she thought that the walk might do her good, instead of chasing after two disappearing mermaids.

She walked the long way home, and opened the door to see her father gazing at the television.

"Hi, darling." He looked to her with a smile. "How was your day?"

Cleo looked down and smiled. "Great. Really great." She looked at the numerous and heavy bags in her arms. "I'm just going to go to my room, okay?"

"Okay, honey." He re-fixed his gaze on the TV. Cleo walked up to her bedroom and dropped her bags on her bed. She was about to sit on it and lay down, when she heard her phone beep. She retrieved it out of pocket and gazed at it, Emma's name lighting up the screen.  
**  
****Hey, we missed you on the swim home. Where were you?****  
****~ Emma**  
**  
****I walked home. I didn't really feel like being teased about being slower than you two. Plus, I decided that the walk would do me good.****  
****~ Cleo**

**I see. But, just for the record, I beat Rikki. Again. But don't ask her, she'll deny it.****  
****~ Emma**

**Of course she will.****  
****~ Cleo**

**Well, I have to go have dinner now. Bye, Cleo.****  
****~ Emma**

**Zane made dinner? He's full of surprises.**

**~ Cleo**

**Oh, ha ha. We got takeout, Little Miss Smart-Remarks.**

**~ Emma**

**I never thought that name would describe anyone other than Rikki. Can you wait a sec? I want to talk to you.****  
****~ Cleo**

**Uh, okay. But just for a minute.****  
****~ Emma**

**Sure. Okay, how are things? Like... as in, living with Zane?****  
****~ Cleo**

**Things are as alright as they're going to be, I guess. Why are you asking?****  
****~ Emma**

**Well... you've never been exactly best friends with Zane.****  
****~ Cleo**

**That, I have not.****  
****~ Emma**

**I was just wondering if you've had a mental breakdown yet.****  
****~ Cleo**

**Nope. You know me, Cleo. I'm not going to let someone like Zane Bennett get to me.****  
****~ Emma**

**Guess not.****  
****~ Cleo**

**Sorry, Cleo. I really have to go.****  
****~ Emma**

**Well, bye, Em.****  
****~ Cleo**

**See you later.****  
****~ Emma****  
**  
Cleo smiled and set her phone down at her computer desk. She momentarily struck an idea, and raced to sit down at her computer. She quickly switched on her webcam, almost bouncing in her seat from excitement.

She hovered over Lewis' name and bit her lip, wondering whether or not to actually go through with it. She quickly clicked on it without thinking, and the black screen showed up as she waited impatiently for him to answer.

To her surprise, someone answered after about twelve rings. But when she looked eagerly at the screen, all she saw was the surface of Lewis' wooden desk.

"Lewis?" Cleo voice called out, wavering slightly. "Are you there?"

"Cleo?" Lewis popped up from under the desk.

"Uh, yeah. What on _earth_ were you doing down there?" She inquired.

"I'm," He ducked back under the desk again. "Looking for my darn papers. I can't find them anywhere- _ow!_" He banged his head on the top of the desk and winced.

"Ah..." Cleo trailed off with an uneasy face. Lewis noticed the lack of words escaping her mouth and his head popped up again.

"Cleo? Is there something wrong? Usually my pain makes you laugh." He asked, concerned, and ready to swoop in at the first sign that Cleo was upset.

"Er, no, nothing's wrong..." She shrugged uneasily. Lewis raised his eyebrows. She knew he could read her like a book. Cleo let out a long sigh. "Actually, there is."

"What is it?" By now, he had noticed there was something seriously wrong, and he had sat in his chair, now properly looking at her.

"Lewis..." She said quietly, but still wasn't able to form an actual sentence.

"Cleo? Whatever it is, you can tell me." He leaned forward, aching to be able to comfort her. His eyes were filled with fright, scared that his biggest fear that Cleo had been exposed and he had not been there for her had come true.

"Lewis," She looked at his face, taking him in, and suddenly, a flare of anger flashed through her. "Where were you, Lewis?" She asked venomously.

By this time, Lewis was almost certain that his fear had come true. But all he could manage was a shaky, "What do you mean?"

"Over a month, Lewis!" She cried, and she could feel the tears making their way to her eyes. "No contact in over a month!"

"Cleo..." Lewis trailed off, looking at her enraged face that he still found utterly beautiful. "I can explain." He finished weakly.

Cleo looked at him with one eyebrow raised, giving him his time to explain.

_That'll always be what makes Cleo different from Rikki,_ He thought. _She'll always give you time to tell your side of the story._

But, then he realised, he had no side of the story to tell. He had no excuse.

"Cleo... I..." He trailed off sadly, at a loss for what to say.

"You don't have an explanation, do you?" She almost disbelievingly, and raised her eyebrows. "That's just great." She said bitterly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Cleo..." He trailed of and took a sharp breath in, looking at her taking in every centimetre of her face.

"And... I do hate to sound like I'm jealous," She looked at him witheringly. "But who _was_ that voice on the other end of the phone?" She paused. "It sounded a heck of a lot like a girl."

"Cleo..." He knew her well enough to tell that she was more curious than jealous. And he had to admit, that made him a little sad. "I can't... tell you anything."

"Okay," Cleo nodded slowly, with a bitter look on her face. "So, now you're hiding a girl in your apartment? Way to make your _girlfriend_ feel like she's not being cheated on."

"Cleo," Lewis gasped. "I would never cheat on you." He shook his head. "Never." He knew he had no right to feel this way, but he felt slightly offended that she could even _think_ that.

"I'd love to believe you." She glared at him before looking down into her lap.

After a long pause, she looked back up at him. "You know," Cleo let out a bitter laugh. "Rikki thought you had an amazing reason for ignoring me." Her eyes bored into his. "But it turns out; you were doing just that- ignoring me."

"But Cleo..." He trailed off, gazing at her.

Suddenly, a muffled call reached Cleo's ears.

"I have to go. Dinner time." She pushed herself away from the desk and stood up.

"Cleo, wait!" Lewis exclaimed with a flustered and worried face.

Cleo's face turned cold. She leaned over the computer. "Goodbye, Lewis." She clicked the _'End Call'_ button and Lewis' face was substituted for a black screen.

Cleo exited out of the program and walked downstairs, never looking behind her.

* * *

**Oh no! Poor Cleo... just saying, they _haven't _broken up. Hope you liked the chapter! Except the fight between Cleo and Lewis. I can understand if you don't like that, especially because I myself didn't! **

**Clewis forever!**


	15. Chapter 15: First Day Back at School

Cleo awoke with a groan at her buzzing alarm clock.

She fumbled to turn it off, the noise growing more annoying by the second. After she had turned it off, she sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. She swung her feet over the side and walked over to her desk, grabbing her brush from it's surface. She ran it through her hair quickly, slightly surprised at how little resistance her hair was showing to it.

Her argument with Lewis had taken place three days ago, and she was feeling pretty bad. She tried to drown her thoughts of him out by agreeing to have an early morning swim with Rikki. She pulled on her clothes distractedly, and made her way down to the beach, where Rikki was waiting, standing on the rocks with her back to Cleo, looking out to the sea.

"Morning Rikki." Cleo called as she ran up to her.

"Morning." Rikki nodded vaguely in her direction, still looking at the waves.

"You excited for school today?" Cleo asked and raised her eyebrows. Today was the start of school again, and Cleo was looking forward to it. She was looking forward to it genuinely, but it would also take her mind off Lewis.

"Do I _look_ like the kind of person who would be excited for school?" She asked in retaliation.

"Point taken." Cleo nodded with a small laugh. "So, do you want to do this thing?" She gestured to the crashing waves.

"In a bit." Rikki said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "It's a pleasant morning, don't you think?"

Cleo looked around; the wind was breezing in their faces, blowing Cleo's free hair around and the strands that were escaping from Rikki's bun. The clouds were covering the sun, and it was a pleasant morning cold. "Yeah, I guess."

"Do you want to sit on the rocks with me?" Rikki finally looked at Cleo, the grey clouds above their heads making her face look paler than usual.

"Okay." Cleo shrugged and sat down on the boulder with her friend. Rikki tilted her head back slightly, a serene smile on her face as she enjoyed the wind in her face. Cleo looked to her friend with a slightly puzzled look, and tried to mirror her actions.

"What's bothering you?" Rikki asked, startling Cleo slightly.

Cleo remained calm. "Why would you think something's bothering me?" She replied smoothly.

"I think I've known you long enough to know when something's bothering you." She said, but didn't look at her, still savouring the sensation of the wind against her face.

"You're right," Cleo sighed; she knew there was absolutely no way she could hide from Rikki. "But I'd rather not talk about it."

"I get it." Rikki said simply, and don't bother to say anything else. Cleo was grateful, for the fact that she didn't press her, and that she didn't say anything else. She flicked a smile over to her friend, which Rikki probably didn't see because her eyes were still closed, but Cleo felt better all the same.

And to her surprise, she actually found relaxation in sitting there. She developed Rikki sense of calm and peace. And she smiled.

"We should probably get this swim started." Rikki stood up and brushed her hands off. "We'll be late for school otherwise."

Cleo stood up as well and grinned at Rikki. "Wouldn't want to be late to the first day of school."

"Speak for yourself." Rikki smiled at her.

Cleo grinned at Rikki's usual smile and sarcasm. "Let's get swimming."

"Okay." Rikki took Cleo's hand and walked down to the water. They waded in waist-deep and looked at each other, grinning.

"Three... two... _one!_" They shouted in unison and they both dove into the water.

They both felt the tingling sensation of their transformation and the water rushing against their skin.

They loop de looped amid the vivid colours of the coral and the sun glistening on the waves.

And soon, far too soon for both Cleo and Rikki's liking, Cleo was tapping her wrist and gesturing her head to shore; they would be late for school if they didn't hurry. Rikki nodded and in minutes they were ashore and Rikki was drying them off.

Rikki and Cleo hurriedly grabbed their school bags off the sand, and ran to school.

They walked into school, smiling.

"I really don't feel like sitting through a never-ending chemistry class at," She glanced at her watch. "Some very early time in the morning."

"I like chemistry." Cleo said cheerily, with a slight skip in her step.

"Of course you do." Rikki groaned and shook her head.

"Anyway," Cleo tugged on Rikki's arm and started walking faster. "Let's go!" She broke out into a run, dragging a stumbling Rikki behind her.

"Ah! Cleo- not so- fast!" She jerked as Cleo pulled her to their first class of the day.

They entered their class, and their teacher turned to the door, a smile lighting up her face when she saw Cleo and Rikki.

"Good morning, Cleo!" She greeted cheerfully. "And... uh, Rikki." She added awkwardly, as Rikki had a reputation for disobedience; but she put up with her because she absolutely worshipped Cleo as her best student. Well, you couldn't excuse the _occasional_ raise of voice when dealing with the mischievous Rikki Chadwick.

"Just have a seat, girls." She gestured to the seats on the hard floor in front of them. "Class will be starting soon."

Cleo and Rikki smiled at each other and took two seats 2/3 to the back of the room.

They started whispering about various things, life, fun, tails.

Soon, the bell rang and sleepy-faced teens dribbled into the classroom, taking seats and muttering about how they wished they were still in their warm, comfortable beds.

"Settle down, class!" The teachers voice rang through the classroom, and the hushed voices immediately stopped, and various coloured eyes, green, brown, and Cleo and Rikki's very own blue and hazel-green, looked towards her.

"Okay, since we all just got back from our holidays and our comfy beds," The class let out a collective sound of agreement, "We'll just start off with something easy." She walked to stand behind her desk. "Open your textbooks to page 152..."

The whole day went by like a breeze, and soon Cleo and Rikki were walking out of school together. The early morning clouds had cleared up, and it was turning out to be a beautiful day.

Suddenly, Rikki's phone beeped and she slid it out of her pocket, looking at it.

"Bella was wondering if we'd like to meet with her at the café." Rikki turned to her friend and said.

"Tell her absolutely." Cleo paused and looked back to Rikki. "I mean, if you want to."

"I was already planning to go there for a shift," She shrugged. "It'll be nice to sit and relax."

"But remember, we'll have to meet Emma after that." Cleo smiled at the thought of her friend, but then a sad look crossed her face. "She'll be getting lonely."

"Yeah," Rikki frowned. "Sitting alone in that big house..." She looked down, and then refocused her gaze on the pavement before her. "I feel a little sad for her."

"Yeah, she's practically the _only_ _one of us_ who would genuinely want to be here." Cleo laughed. "Except me."

"Yeah," Rikki laughed along with her. "She would love it."

"She would probably find it relaxing." Cleo mumbled.

"We're here." Rikki announced as they walked up to the entrance of Rikki's café. They both walked through the beaded entrance, to see Bella sitting at their favourite booth, fiddling with her hands.

"Hey Bella!" Cleo walked up to her friend, smiling.

Bella got up and hugged her. "It's great to see you." She said, and was smiling when she pulled back.

"Hey Bella." Rikki walked up to her casually, a smile on her face. "How have you been?"

"I've been good, thanks." She said as she hugged Rikki.

"Good. Aim to keep it that way, okay?" Rikki raised one eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked, puzzled.

"Hey, Rikki?" Cleo asked sweetly, though it was through gritted teeth.

"Yeah?" Rikki turned to Cleo, oblivious to Cleo's vexation.

"Can you help me with this science question?" She continued.

"Why would you need-" Rikki stopped when she finally saw the look on Cleo's face. "Uh, sure."

Cleo grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her across the room. "And just what do you think you're doing?" She accused.

"What?" Rikki asked innocently, unknowing to anything she had done wrong.

"If Bella doesn't know about her weird sickness, illness, random thing, whatever the _heck _it is, we should keep it that way!" Cleo said as though she were talking to a child.

"_Oh._" Rikki's eyes widened in understanding. "I guess that was a bad thing to say, then."

"Well, duh!" Cleo threw her arms out in exasperation. Cleo sighed before continuing. "Come on, we better go back before Bella notices there's something up."

Cleo and Rikki walked back to Bella nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened.

"What was that about?" Bella raised her eyebrows at the two of them. "Cleo, you're usually so good at science."

"Well, I, uh, must have been in the bathroom while it was being talked about." Cleo shrugged.

"Oh." Bella raised her shoulders. "Okay."

"Oh!" Cleo exclaimed, suddenly, like she had made a huge revelation. "How was your date-friend-thingy with Will?" Cleo raised her eyebrows in question.

"It was _not_ a date!" Bella shouted in protest, turning a few heads.

"Exactly; didn't you hear the words date-friend-thingy?" Cleo laughed as she sat down.

"Oh." Bella said quietly, her cheeks flushing a little.

"I have to go," Rikki shot an apologetic look to both Cleo and Bella as she saw Zane waving her over. She walked over to him, before turning back to them, grinning. "But I expect all the details!" She yelled at them before going to the counter.

She walked over to Zane, smiling.

"What was that all about?" He asked, bewildered.

"Bella went on a date with Will and I simply told them not to leave anything out in their explanation." She said with a shrug.

"Ah." Zane nodded. "Here, come into the office." Zane gestured towards the door.

"Why?" She tilted her head slightly on confusion. "I thought you called me over to work?"

"I did," Zane paused. "But I'd like to talk to you first."

Rikki's looked confused for a second, before she let out a slightly puzzled, "Okay..." And walked into the office.

"What do you want to talk about?" Rikki asked, staring at the walls.

"Well..." She shrugged; which Rikki didn't actually see, because she wasn't even looking at him.

"Yes?" Rikki turned to him, her eyes questioning his.

"I was wondering if you'd ask Bella to think about maybe making some new songs?" He raised his eyebrows in question. "The songs she has now are fine, but we don't want-" He cut himself off, a spark lighting in his eyes. He rushed over to the desk and typed some things into the laptop. "Actually, I think that might be Sophie." He laughed.

"What?" Rikki asked, puzzled. She wasn't following him at all.

"There's been a decrease in customers- but I've realised that's only been the customers Sophie has served, and they only don't come on her shifts!" He laughed.

They laughed for a good two minutes, until Zane said:

"We'd better be getting back outside." He nodded to her, walked to the door and held it open for Rikki.

"Thanks." She said as she walked through it, Zane following her.

A little later, Rikki was wiping down a table, when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

She looked over her shoulder to see a smiling Cleo.

"You ready to go?" She asked, eyebrows raised.

"Go where?" Rikki turned to her fully, a puzzled expression crossing over her face.

"To go see Emma!" Cleo threw out her arms in exasperation. "The thing both us and she have been looking forward to all day?"

"_Oh_." Rikki's eyes widened slightly in realisation. She smiled; this was something she was looking forward to.

"Sure thing." She said with a smile. "I just have to finish up with a few things here."

"Okay." Cleo nodded. "I'll meet you at my place."

"See you soon." Rikki turned her back to Cleo and finished wiping down the table. She heard the beaded doorway rustle as Cleo left the café.

* * *

When Rikki had finished all the things required of her at the café, she smiled, exited Rikki's, and broke into a run to get to Cleo's house.

Rikki was there in record time, and she knocked on the door, fidgeting. Cleo opened the door, a bright smile lighting up her face when she saw Rikki.

"So, we still going to Zane's house?" Rikki asked.

"Yeah." Cleo nodded. "But poor Emma's been there all alone practically all day. I think she needs some cheering up."

"We can do that pretty well." Rikki grinned.

"Let's go." Cleo grabbed her bag from the small table next to the door and walked outside.

"So... which way?" Cleo asked, fiddling with the strap of her bag so it wasn't twisted.

"What?" Rikki looked to her friend, confused for a moment, before she realised that Cleo had never been to Zane's house before.

"Uh, this way." Rikki pointed in a direction and they started walking.

* * *

With Rikki's assistance, they were both soon in front of Zane's house.

"Wow," Cleo gasped, her eyes widened slightly. "It's huge."

"Yup." Rikki nodded. "Let's go inside."

They both knew to just go in, so they didn't bother to knock.

"Emma?" Cleo called out cautiously, her voice echoing slightly. "Em, you here?" Cleo peeked into the kitchen; no Emma.

They walked into the living room, to see Emma sitting there, head buried in her hands.

"Emma?" Cleo paused. "You okay?"

Emma shot up at the sound of Cleo's voice.

"Hey guys!" She said with a bright smile.

"Uh, hey." Rikki and Cleo looked to each other warily.

"How have you been?" Rikki asked.

"The same." Emma shrugged, but then her face lit up as though she had forgotten something. "Oh, except for this." She held her arm up to them.

They gasped. "Your- your arm! It's okay!" Rikki stuttered, while Cleo stood there with her mouth wide open.

"Yeah," She shrugged. "I figured the tentacle must've done it to me." She shuddered at the memory.

"Oh." Cleo said, eyes still slightly widened. She nodded. "Okay."

"Guys," She stepped closer to Cleo and Rikki, her eyes alight with excitement. "I'm _dying_ for a swim."

"I'm up for it," Rikki grinned and turned to the brunette beside her. "Cleo?"

"Totally." Cleo smiled excitedly.

* * *

The girls were soon in the water, gazing at brightly coloured fish as they swam by, being tickled by seaweed, and swimming at impossible speeds.

They soon found themselves in the moon pool, talking and laughing.

"Hey Cleo?" Emma turned to Cleo. "You're not talking very much. Something bothering you?"

Cleo had been floating at the side of the moon pool, deep in thought and practically silent until now.

"Oh," She looked up at her. "I'm fine."

"No, really," Emma pushed herself of the rock and swam over to her. "What's bothering you?"

Rikki raised her eyebrows at Cleo. She knew there was something on Cleo's mind, and had decided to let it slip by and let Cleo tell them when she was ready, but she knew Emma wouldn't let her off that easy.

Cleo stared at Emma for a moment, before looking down at her tail, which was swishing lazily from side to side.

After a long pause, Cleo sighed. "I talked to Lewis."

Rikki's face broke out into a smile. "Really? That's great!" She exclaimed with joy. But then she looked at her friend. She wasn't smiling. "... Right?"

"Nope." Cleo said, still looking down at her golden tail, which was glistening with water.

"What happened?" Emma pushed herself back into her original spot, feeling like Cleo needed some space.

"I..." She swallowed. "I yelled at him."

"With very good reason." Rikki interjected.

Cleo's voice came out quieter and softer than usual. "I just looked at him... and got, so angry."

"Oh, Cleo." Emma swam over and put her arms around her friend. Rikki did the same, and Cleo just floated there, not responding. The two girls pulled away, but Cleo still hadn't done anything. They both pulled themselves back to their spots, waiting for Cleo to continue.

Cleo took a sharp breath in and went on. "I... I gave him a chance to explain, but," She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "He didn't have any explanation."

Both Rikki and Emma were shocked. How could the dependable, smart, compassionate Lewis they had known all these years neglect Cleo for a month and not have a reasonable explanation?

"Cleo..." Rikki gazed at her, at loss for words. "I am so sorry." She managed.

Cleo blinked the tears away, still having more of the story to tell. "I accused him of cheating on me." She said, her voice broken with unshed tears.

"What? Why?" Rikki asked, worried.

"That person," Cleo sniffed. "That stupid Ricky Sirena person, it sounded like a girl," She wiped at her eyes furiously. "A girl that was trying to sound like a man." She let her hands splash into the water at her sides. "I thought, maybe... it wasn't someone who knew our secret. It was someone who..." She couldn't finish, the thought of it making her heart ache.

Emma and Rikki didn't say anything, they just enveloped their friend in a warm, well-needed hug.

"Anyway, enough about me," She murmured as she pushed her friends away. "Let's talk about you guys."

"Cleo..." Rikki looked at her, biting her lip.

"I don't want to be the centre of attention." She shook her head.

"Okay." Emma sighed, knowing it would be best to give Cleo her wish. "Well then," She looked to her two best friends. "What should we talk about?"

"Well..." Rikki shrugged. "There's something I've been wondering about." She waded over to Cleo and whispered something in her ear. Cleo's eyes widened slightly, and she nodded. "Emma," Rikki floated back to her spot on the ledge and looked to Emma. "On the night of the full moon, you said you had a headache?"

"Yes..." Emma said warily, unsure of where this was going. "Why?"

"How long had you had that headache?" Rikki thought she remembered Emma telling her this already, but she wanted confirmation.

"I woke up with a horrendous headache and it got progressively worse." She explained.

"Didn't you say it got to it's worst point about twenty minutes after the moon rose?" Cleo pointed out.

"Yeah." Emma nodded.

"Did it stop at all during the day?" Rikki asked, seemingly eager to fire all of her questions at Emma.

"Nope." Emma said and the corners of her mouth turned down into a playful pout.

"Okay..." Rikki thought deeply for a minute. "Well, I have a theory."

"It's a strange but probable theory." Cleo smiled.

"Uhh..." Emma looked at Rikki nervously. "What is it?"

"Well..." Rikki shrugged. "What I think is, we don't know so much about Mako and it's methods, so my thoughts were..." She swallowed. "The tentacle was trying to get into your head." She announced. "And I think that was also causing your over-emotional behaviour that night. With the moon up, and having the whole day to get to you, it had succeeded, and made you a mental wreck. And that's also why you don't remember much." Rikki finished with a shrug. Emma gaped.

"Er, Em?" Cleo asked, as Emma hasn't said anything.

"I agree," She said at last. "That's really strange." She leant her head back on the rock and took a long pause. "But probable."

Rikki smiled, glad that Emma had faith in her.

"I'm glad that's settled." Rikki said, putting her hands behind her head and leaning back.

"You know," Cleo spoke to, causing Emma and Rikki to look at her. "It's nice to just be here together." Her tail swished gently in the water.

"Yeah." Rikki smiled brightly.

"Definitely." Emma sighed contentedly and the three mermaids looked through the cone of the volcano, at the blue sky above them.

"We better get going." Cleo's voice broke the silence.

Emma and Rikki nodded to her, sympathy lingering on their faces as she ducked under the water.

They looked to each other worriedly before doing the same.

Cleo's tears finally came underwater, and if felt like all she wanted to do was scream and swim so far down in the ocean no one would ever find her.

But in the darkness of the moon pool, a hand grabbed hers, and squeezed it.


	16. Chapter 16: Rain rain, stay away

**Hey there! I have something to say, and that is that the updating pace will be going back to normal now, one week or a little more between updates. Hopefully, anyway! And, wait for it, this is the first update with the new monitor! You see, we just replaced our old computer monitor that took at least three hours to start up, usually more (once it took the whole day, and was only ready at 9 o' clock at night.) and that majorly affected my writing. Anyways, hope you like the chapter!**

* * *

Bella opened her eyes before her alarm had even gone off. She jumped out of bed, pulled some clothes on, and went out the door, not even bothering to have breakfast.

She practically skipped her way down to Will's boatshed, humming one of her new songs while she did so. She knocked on his door, and after waiting a while for a response, knocked again. She frowned when Will still didn't answer. She twisted the knob and opened the door, finding that she had to keep herself from laughing when she saw Will spread out on the couch, sleeping, and topless.

She let out a stifled laugh and politely covered her eyes. "Will!" She whispered. He didn't stir. "Will!" She whispered again, a little louder this time. He rolled over and mumbled, but didn't wake up. "_Will!_" She shouted, crossing her arms over her chest, throwing him a rather amused look.

"Ah!" He jolted up and lunged out at whatever was attacking him.

"Here." Bella strutted over to the table, picked up one of his t-shirts, and tossed it to him.

"Oh, ah, thanks." He suddenly realised that he had no shirt on, and fumbled to catch the heap of fabric that was being tossed to him, only just hanging onto it with his fingertips.

He hurriedly pulled it on, managing to get it on backwards. Bella laughed as he twisted it round, finally getting his appearance sorted out.

"You alright?" Bella stifled a laugh.

"Yeah. Fine." He stood up and walked over to Bella, casually leaning on the table. "When did you get here?"

"Five minutes ago." She smiled and walked past him, flopping onto the couch.

"Oh. Sorry about earlier," He sat down next to her. "I guess my alarm failed to wake me up."

"That's okay." She shrugged and stood up. "I'm just going to get a glass of water." She told him before heading to the kitchen. Will heard Bella turning on the tap and filling up a glass before she called out, "Will? Where do you keep your straws?"

"The first cabinet above your head." He called back.

"Thank you!" He heard her rummaging through the cabinets, and soon she came out with a cup of water and a green straw, sipping eagerly as she sat down next to Will again.

"How are you?" Bella asked, and stopped sipping for a moment to look at him.

"Good. Why?" He looked at her in question.

"Just asking." She shrugged. She glanced at her watch and hopped up. "We'd better get going or we'll be late for school."

"Okay." Will took her outstretched hand and she helped him up. "I'm glad you agreed to meet me before we had to go." He smiled at her.

"Me too." She smiled back at him and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She walked over to the door and grabbed her bag before turning to him. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, you go ahead. I'm just going to get some stuff." He nodded to her. She smiled back at him and went out the door and he turned to the table. He picked up some of his homework and books, when he heard a scream from outside.

"Will!" Bella shrieked.

"Bella?" Will rushed to the door and threw it open. "Bella!" He looked around frantically, but couldn't see Bella anywhere. It was a glint of golden that caught his attention. He looked down to see Bella lying on the dock, a scared look on her face.

He leaned down next to her, drizzle raining down and seeping through his clothes.

"Help." She said quietly.

"Shhh," He wiped some raindrops off her cheek. "I will." He whispered.

"Throw me over." She said, biting her lip.

"Okay." Will nodded, gazing down at her face, which was full of fear. "Hold on."

He lifted her up and checked that there was no one around before he threw her into the water as gently as he could.

She surfaced a moment later, looking up at Will and listening out for any footsteps. "Thank you." She said with a grateful smile.

"No problem." He sat down so that his legs were swinging off the dock.

"How am I going to get out?" Bella asked with a worried look. "It's raining." She looked up to the sky and Will did the same.

"I'll get you out," He looked back to her with a kind smile. "Don't worry."

"But _how?_" She asked. "I can't dry off, I can't stay here- and _how_ are we supposed to get to school?"

"Well, we can't go to school, that's for sure." He paused, letting Bella think about his words. "And, about you drying off..." He pondered this for a minute. "Mad dash?"

"What?" She stared at him as though he had lost his mind. "Will, are you crazy? Anybody could see me!"

"It's the best we've got." Will shrugged. "And this rain doesn't look like it's going to be letting up any time soon." He looked up to the sky and then down to his clothes, which were soaked. He was freezing cold, and the rain was pelting down on him mercilessly.

"Okay." Bella sighed. "Help me out."

She held out her arms. Will looked around and checked if anyone was coming before he grabbed hold of her arms and started pulling her out. Will groaned as Bella came further and further out of the water, and for Bella, it felt like her arms were being pulled out of their sockets. The tip of Bella's tail was finally lifted out of the water, and Will pulled her up onto the dock.

"Quickly. Get me inside." She whispered.

Will nodded and lifted Bella up, flinging the door open, walking in, and laying her on the couch gently. He quickly hurried back over to the door and closed it.

"Thanks." Bella sighed in relief.

"It's okay." He shrugged. "I'll go get you a towel." He walked into the kitchen, brought out a towel and handed it to her. She immediately started drying her tail.

Will turned to her and looked at her. "I guess we're locked in."

"Unfortunately." Bella sighed. Suddenly, her whole body shimmered, and seemed almost transparent, and then she had her legs back. "That's better." She hopped up.

She strolled over to the table and sat down with a huff. "So, we're just stuck here?"

"Yeah." Will sighed, running his hand through his blonde hair. "I'll call the girls."

"Oh no!" Bella cried and stood up, looking to Will with a terrified face. "The girls!"

* * *

Cleo groaned as she pulled herself through the doorway, tail and all. She made a noise of relief as she finally heaved the tip of her tail through the door and slammed it shut with her fin.

The kitchen was so far away, she really didn't want drag herself there to get a towel. She just let out a frustrated sigh and started her journey to the kitchen. She pulled a towel down from the counter and started rubbing furiously at her tail. Thank goodness Kim had left with friends earlier to go to school, and her dad was at the docks, working.

After she dried herself, she hopped up and walked into the living room, pulling back the curtain and gazing out of the window. It was pouring. She watched as the raindrops stained the glass, pouring down, wave after wave. She released the curtain and sighed, biting her lip. It was only when she turned back to the living room, she realised her phone was ringing. She picked it up and flopped down on the couch with a frustrated sigh, putting it to her ear.

"Hello?" She answered, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice.

"Cleo? Cleo, are you alright?" Bella's anxious voice came through the other end of the phone.

"I'm fine." Cleo said. "You mean the rain, right?"

"Of course!" Bella seemed to calm down a fraction. "I'm glad you're alright. I got caught outside Will's boatshed, but no one saw. Have you got any word from Rikki?"

"Nope."

* * *

Unfortunately for Rikki, the rain caught her right outside the café, on her way to meet Zane.

The rain pelted down on her. "Oh, you have to be kidding me." She groaned. She transformed, balancing on her tail for a second before flopping over. She looked around, her eyes flashing in alarm. She was completely vulnerable.

"Zane!" She yelled. It might draw attention to her, but it the journey to the café by dragging... it would take far too slowly and she would be discovered for sure. The café was still a little far away, though, she wasn't sure Zane would even hear her. "Zane!" She shouted a little louder. She looked around. People were coming closer. "Zane, help me!" She screamed, fear and desperation making her voice strained. She could hear footsteps. "Zane, _please!_" Tears were coming down now.

Zane was looking over some papers, when he heard a noise. He looked around, but didn't hear the sound again. He shrugged and looked back to the pieces of paper in his hands. That's when he heard it.

"Zane, help me!" He dashed to the door at the plea.

"Zane, _please!_" He heard Rikki's strained cry as he ran out of the café and set eyes upon the mermaid lying on the sidewalk. His eyes widened in fear and he ran to her, kneeling beside her.

"Zane!" Rikki gasped. Fear shone in her eyes. "Help."

Zane looked around. There were people coming from all around, wondering what the screaming was about. Zane nodded to Rikki and threw her a weak smile, hoping it would comfort her, and picked her up. He made a mad dash for the café, glad that the umbrellas and raincoats slowed the people down, if only slightly. He entered the café doors and ran for the office, laying Rikki down on the couch and locking the door behind him.

"I don't think anybody saw." He breathed a sigh of relief as he turned back to Rikki, who still looked scared. He knelt down beside her and entwined her fingers with his, trying to comfort her. "It's okay. You're safe." He said soothingly. Zane took a step away from her and allowed her to dry herself, which she couldn't do with him right there- he was soaking wet. She obediently began to dry herself, and within seconds she was holding a hand up to Zane, and he was dry too.

Zane knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his. "Are you okay?"

Rikki didn't speak for a moment. She bit her lip. "I was so scared." She whispered. At these words, Zane immediately brought her close and stroked her blonde curls.

"It's okay." He whispered. "You're safe. You're with me now."

Rikki leant her head on his shoulder, and put her arms around his neck.

Zane pulled back just enough to look at her. He stroked her cheek and she smiled. "I'm so glad you're okay." He whispered.

"I'm so glad I had you to save me." She whispered back.

Zane kissed her soft blonde curls before standing up. He extended a hand to her, which she accepted and was soon standing beside him.

Rikki ran out of the office and looked out of the widow. It was pouring. "It looks like we won't be going out any time soon." She said dejectedly.

"Maybe that's a good thing." Zane strolled over to her and put an arm around her neck.

"Yeah," Rikki turned to him with a smile. "Maybe it is."

* * *

Cleo set her phone on her lap and closed her eyes, listening to the rain pour outside. She groaned.

Her guilt was gnawing away at her. She should have never said the things she said to Lewis. But, there was also something else. Something else she just couldn't put her finger on. It felt like she was missing something. She shook her head from side to side, made a snap-decision and raced up the stairs. She burst through the door and dashed to the computer, hurriedly switching it on before she lost her nerve.

She opened up her webcam and hovered over Lewis' name. She clicked it. With a sudden burst of apprehension, she ducked under her desk and huddled up.

"Cleo?" Lewis' voice travelled to her ears. "Is that you?"

Cleo popped her head just above the desk. "Oh, hey Lewis."

"Cleo? Listen-"

"Wait a second before you launch into some stuttering apology." Cleo stood up and brushed her clothes off before seating herself in her computer chair. Lewis looked a little embarrassed. "I wanted to say I'm sorry."

Lewis' eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"I still think you should have talked to me during that month and a half, but I'm sorry I accused you of cheating on me." Cleo looked down and played with her hands.

"No no," Lewis shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Yes," Cleo nodded. "Yes, I do."

"But Cleo," Lewis looked down before looking back to her. "I did leave you in the dark for a month. I had to."

"But..." Cleo's smile fell. "There wasn't any exam or essay?"

"No," Lewis looked at Cleo's heartbroken face and felt his own heart breaking. "There wasn't."

"But, I thought..." Cleo couldn't finish that sentence. _I thought we'd be together forever,_ She thought. _But that couldn't work if he's neglected me for a month, could it?_ Cleo swallowed and her voice came out very quiet. "I thought you'd at least have a reason."

"I don't, Cleo." He shook his head and watched as her face paled.

After a long silence, Cleo spoke up again. "But... we could forget that, couldn't we?"

"Cleo?" Lewis looked up, his face no longer mournful. "You'd give me a second chance?"

Cleo just nodded. The truth was, she loved Lewis too much to let him go _yet again._

"Oh, Cleo!" Lewis smiled brightly. "Thank you so much. You won't regret it."

"Listen, I've got to go." Cleo shrugged awkwardly. "I've got to call Rikki." She couldn't hide the bright smile on her face.

"Okay. Thank you, Cleo." Cleo's screen went black as Lewis switched off. Cleo turned off her computer and happily skipped down the stairs.

If she had been looking, she would have realised why she felt that she was missing something important.

Lewis' apartment looked different.

* * *

Bella groaned as she heard the rain pound against the roof. It didn't seem to be letting up.

"Bella?" Will asked from across the room, where he was looking at some dried up piece of coral or something. "You alright?"

"Yeah," She waved him off with a frustrated sigh, "I just wish the rain would stop."

"Me too." He laughed and walked over to her.

"Stupid rain." Bella muttered bitterly.

* * *

Cleo picked up her phone again and dialled Rikki's number. She picked up after the first ring.

"Cleo? Cleo, are you okay?" She asked, concerned. "The rain caught me outside the café; don't tell me it got you too?"

"Yeah." Cleo let out a great sigh, remembering the rain that had taken place earlier that morning. "Yeah, it did. But only just outside the doorway, so I was able to drag myself inside before anyone knew better."

"Good." Rikki ran her fingers through her hair. "Have you heard from Bella?" She paced. "Who knew what a little rain could do to us?"

"Yeah, I have heard from Bella. She's safe with Will, she's fine." Cleo answered.

"Oh, good." Rikki stopped pacing. "I'm guessing the rain didn't even touch Emma because she stays inside Zane's place until we go get her."

"Yeah." Worry found it's way into Cleo's voice. "But what if she's not okay? We better call her to check."

"Okay. But don't worry- I'll call her." Rikki tried to reassure her friend, but knew she had failed. "Bye, Cleo." She sighed.

"Bye. Keep me updated." Cleo hung up.

Rikki ran her fingers through her hair. She started pacing again, but Zane calmly placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him, preventing her from pacing any further.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Rikki sighed. "We're both worried about Emma."

"That can be fixed by a phone call, so tell me, what's really bothering you?" He asked, concern writing itself across his face.

"I'm just frustrated," She sighed angrily and sat down in one of the booths. Zane looked concernedly at her, walked over to her, and sat opposite her in the booth. She looked to him and continued. "I'm frustrated at what a little rain can do to us."

"Rikki," He walked over to her, kneeled in front of her, and took her hands in his. "You've had to deal with water for three years now. I honestly wouldn't be able to do that. But you've done it, Rikki. You're a mermaid. And I love you even more for it." He enveloped her in a hug and stroked her curls.

"Thank you." Rikki whispered into his shoulder.

Zane pulled back to look at her. "I'm here for you anytime." He looked at her seriously. "Okay?"

"Okay." Rikki nodded slowly and managed a smile. "Now, I'd better call Emma."

"Good girl." He stroked her curls before standing up to let her out.

Rikki laughed and exited the booth, mouthing 'I'm not a dog' to him before dialling Emma's number.

* * *

Unfortunately for Emma, she didn't hear her phone ring because it was in her pocket. And currently, she had a long golden tail.

Emma panicked.

She had been on the beach when the rain hit. She had decided to get out of Zane's big, empty house and go for a morning swim.

But now she was 30 metres from the water, rain pelting onto her back. She tried as hard as she could to get to the water, but it was too far. She looked around. There were people there, even though it was raining. It was only a matter of time before they saw the mermaid lying in the middle of the beach.

There was no one around to save her. It was like she was still on her world trip.

_Flashback_

The wind ruffled her hair.

She knew it was dangerous to be there, looking out to sea. But no one was there, and she didn't really care. She had a stack of towels on the table to her right.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leant against the railing.

"Emma!" A voice came from behind her. Emma swung around and quickly backed away from the rail. Elliot's blonde hair blew slightly in the wind and his blue eyes gazed into hers. "Mum wants you to come inside."

"Sure. In a second, Elliot." She shooed him away and he ran back into the cabin.

Emma sighed and took one last longing look at the waves before entering the cabin after her little brother.

When she entered, she saw her brother sitting on the bed, and her mother returning from the kitchenette with a glass of water.

"Mum, what is it?" She sat down on one of the unoccupied chairs.

"Em, I wanted to talk about your birthday." Her mum replied with a weak smile and a sigh, knowing quite well where this was going.

"I _told_ you, I don't want a birthday this year." _Correction, I don't want a birthday without Cleo and Rikki, _She thought sadly.

Her mum stood up and started walking towards her. "Emma, I know you-" She accidentally tipped her glass of water on Emma's arm. Emma's eyes widened. "Oh, sorry Emma."

Emma dashed out of the cabin.

"What's wrong, Emma?" Her mum called after her, looking out the door. She turned back to Elliot with a perplexed expression. "It was only a little bit of water..."

Emma was almost to the door of her cabin when she fell over with a tail.

_Help,_ She thought desperately. _Somebody!_

She looked around. Her mother hadn't followed her. She tried to flop her way to her cabin, but it was no use.

She was helpless.

She was alone.

There was no one around to save her.

_End of Flashback_

Emma tried to drag herself to the shoreline, but it was too far away. She just flopped down again, frustrated tears falling down her cheeks.

She slammed her hands against the sand. She looked around- people were getting even _closer_.

She felt she only had one option. "Help! Somebody! _Help!_" She screamed.

People ran to her. She thought this was the end. Of her mermaid life, of the swimming with the dolphins, of holding her breath for the longest amounts of time, of swimming deeper than any diver ever. She couldn't have that if she was trapped in a tank.

But then she heard a voice.

"Emma?" It spoke. "Emma! Oh no!"

She thought she recognised it, but she couldn't pinpoint it, especially in her current frame of mind.

She felt someone picking her up. "Don't worry, Emma. It's going to be okay."

She tried to see whomever was carrying her, but she suddenly didn't care when she saw that this person was carrying her to the _ocean._

All of a sudden, she felt the cool water rush against her skin. She took one last look back to shore, but her mysterious saviour was already walking away.

Then Emma swam and swam and never looked back.

* * *

"She's not answering." Rikki set her phone down on the table with a frustrated sigh.

"Maybe she can't hear it?" Zane said weakly, raising his eyebrows.

"Not possible." Rikki ran her fingers through her hair and stood up.

"Hey," Zane wrapped his hands around Rikki's waist. "There's probably some reasonable explanation."

Rikki turned and looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Whoever said being stuck in a tank was unreasonable?"

"Now I think you're going a little bit crazy," Zane swung her from side to side slowly. "She's probably just in her room and left her phone downstairs."

"Or under a microscope." Rikki interjected.

Zane turned her around to face him, surprising her slightly. "Emma will be fine. We'll call her in fifteen minutes, and if she doesn't pick up, I'll go to my house and see if she's alright."

"Really?" Rikki looked up to him.

"Really." Zane tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you." Rikki whispered and took a step away from him. "I'd better call Cleo."

She picked her phone up again and dialled Cleo's number.

* * *

Cleo was lying on the floor when her phone rang. She fumbled to get it, and tripped over the many books spread out around her in the process.

She put the phone up to her ear. "H-hello?"

"Hey, Cleo." Rikki greeted casually.

"Have you got through to Emma?" She asked hopefully.

Rikki sighed and there was a long pause. "No."

"What does that mean?" Cleo asked fearfully.

"Don't think anything just yet, Cleo." Rikki said quickly.

"Okay." Cleo nodded and took a deep, calm breath, as Emma had taught her to do. "Are you as bored as I am?"

"Definitely."

"Oh," Cleo sounded surprised. "I thought Zane would've been _great_ company."

"Oh, shut it." Rikki said threateningly.

"Make me."

Rikki walked over to the window to see if the rain had stopped. It hadn't. "I would, if the rain had stopped."

"Right." Cleo replied sarcastically. "Zane and Rikki, sitting in a-"

"_Cleo!_"

Cleo just laughed at her friend's frustration. "You're so easy to wind up." She flopped down onto the red couch and sighed happily. "When it comes to Zane, anyway."

"I reiterate: shut it."

"Wait a sec, I think I'll get Bella on the line." Cleo waited for Rikki's response.

"If it gets you to shut up about me and Zane." Rikki sang. Cleo laughed, pressed a few buttons, and soon Bella was talking with them.

"Hey guys!" She said cheerily.

"You sound awfully happy for someone who's on total lockdown." Rikki noted.

"It's because she's with Will." Cleo laughed.

"Oh, be quiet!"

"You're only saying that because it's true!" Rikki taunted.

"No it's not!" Bella protested.

"I'm betting you it is!" Cleo teased.

"No it isn't! Stop picking on me!" Bella cried.

"Fine." Cleo said sulkily.

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy." Even though they couldn't see it, Bella and Cleo could tell Rikki was pouting.

After a short pause, Cleo suggested, "Why don't you go swimming?" Completely out of the blue.

"What?" Bella and Rikki asked in unison.

"I mean, if you ran, you could get to the water quick enough. If Rikki and I did that, we'd probably end up with tails before we got there..." Cleo continued.

"She does have a point." Rikki added.

"I guess. It would be nice, but I like talking to you guys!" She said happily.

"You'd rather be talking to boring old us and be on total lockdown than be swimming with the dolphins?" Rikki questioned.

"Absolutely." Bella replied.

"Thanks, Bella." Cleo said warmly.

"Yes, thank you." Rikki muttered quickly. "Anyway, what _are_ we supposed to do during this boring lockdown?"

"Er..." Cleo looked down to the floor and the books that had been spread around her. "I was going to choose a book to read."

"Books are boring!" Rikki exclaimed. "Maybe even more boring than this stupid lockdown."

"Okay, okay, bad suggestion." Cleo shrugged. "But what _can_ we do?"

"Uh..." Rikki trailed.

"Maybe... we could..." Bella clutched at straws.

"Darn you, rain!" Rikki cried out in frustration. "Why couldn't it have come _after _we were at school?"

Cleo burst into hysterics.

"What?" Rikki asked. "What's so funny?"

"Imagine Rikki Chadwick _wanting_ to go to school!" She sputtered.

"Speaking of school, they'll probably be wondering where on earth we are." Bella interjected.

Cleo cringed. "We'll get yelled at tomorrow."

"Who cares?" Rikki asked airily.

"Obviously not you." Cleo sighed, a little frustration leaking into her voice. "I swear, you don't care at all about your grades."

"Nope."

Cleo groaned.

* * *

Emma sighed and sat down again. She was in the moon pool, hiding out from the storm. It was the best place for her to be, and guaranteed her safety. But unfortunately, that meant she couldn't call Cleo, Rikki or Bella.

Emma stared down at the water and frowned. The raindrops from outside caused it to ripple. The storm didn't seem to be letting up.

Emma twirled her locket. All she wanted was for the storm to stop, so she could see her friends. She prayed they hadn't been caught like she had.

* * *

Rikki dashed into the office and back out into the café, tying her hair into a high ponytail whilst doing so.

"What on _earth_ are you doing?" Zane laughed, shaking his head and walking up to her.

Rikki had stopped running in and out of the office, and was now jogging on the spot as Zane stared at her, half-amused, half looking at her as if she were crazy. "I'm so _bored._"

"And you're solving your boredom by running around?" Zane raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Anything to get my mind off the rain." She ran in circles around Zane three times, kissed him on the cheek quickly, and then ran around the counter, up and down the length of the café four times, and in and out of the office repeatedly.

Zane shook his head and walked up to her, in all her franticness. _Rikki sure is weird at times. _He thought.

"Rikki!" He yelled, trying to catch her attention and make her stop dashing around. She kept going.

"Rikki!" He tried again. Still no effect.

"Rikki!" He shouted loudly, cupping his hands over his mouth. Still nothing.

Suddenly, Rikki felt an icy chill trickle down her back. She flopped to the ground with a long, golden tail.

She looked up to Zane, who was holding an empty bucket of water that still had stray droplets falling from it. "What was that for?"

"I had to get you to stop for a second." He shrugged.

"Why?"

Zane just laughed. "Could you see yourself? You were going kind of crazy."

"I was not!" She said defensively. Zane just raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe a little bit..."

Zane smiled and shook his head. "If you're trying to get rid of your boredom, I think I have some board games stored away somewhere-"

"Board games make me bored." Rikki yawned.

"Of course they do." Zane rolled his eyes. "Then do something that isn't running around like a crazy person or lighting everything on fire."

Rikki's eyes glittered. "Now that you bring that up, that sounds like fun..."

"Oh no you don't." He posed the bucket threateningly over her, where the last few drops trickled out and landed on her tail.

"Fine." She said sulkily and curled her lip into a pout.

Zane smiled, kneeled down and kissed her on the forehead. "Have fun drying off." He said before walking into the office.

"_Zane!_" She yelled after him. She grumbled and dried herself before storming into the office. Zane didn't seem to notice her presence, and she slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ow!" He turned around, rubbing the spot where Rikki had assaulted him. "What was that for?"

"For leaving me there." She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You can dry yourself off just fine! Hello- you're the one with the heating powers!" He exclaimed, flinging his arms out.

She seemed to think about it for a moment, before she slapped him again. "You still deserved it." She poked her tongue out at him.

"Says you." He grumbled.

"Excuse me?" Rikki raised her eyebrows, daring him to oppose her.

"Oh, nothing, nothing."

"Oh no, I'm really interested in what you have to say." She persisted.

"Don't worry, it was-" All of a sudden, a huge smile spread across Rikki's face and she dashed out of the office.

Zane, with a confused look on his face, went to the doorway and called out, "What is it?"

* * *

"I think the rain's stopping." Cleo mumbled to herself as she peered out the window.

When the last raindrops had hit the glass resting in front of her face, Cleo ran outside, her shoes preventing her from making contact with wet pavement. To most, she probably looked crazy, but to her friends, well, they were probably doing the same thing.

It felt so good to be outside again, and breathe in, real, fresh air. She hurried back inside to call Rikki, Bella, and hopefully, Emma.

"Yes!" Rikki screamed hysterically as she ran outside. "Zane, come look at this!"

"What are you doing outside?" He started running to the sound of her voice. "Don't you know it's..." His eyes widened slightly when he saw that the rain had ceased. "Raining." He finished.

"Yippee!" Rikki laughed, grabbed Zane's hand, and twirled him around.

"Err..." Zane looked at Rikki strangely, but decided not to do anything. She seemed happy.

* * *

Emma pulled herself up onto sand, just enough so she wouldn't get hit by the water again.

She sat there for about ten minutes, before magic engulfed her body, and all of her shimmered for a second, before she had her legs back.

The first thing she did was hop up and get her phone out, but she paused before frantically dialling Cleo's number.

Three missed calls. Two from Rikki, one from Cleo. Before she could do anything else, her phone lit up, and a ringtone blasted through it's speakers.

"Cleo!" She answered.

"Thank goodness, Emma. We've been trying to get through to you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. The storm got you too?" She replied.

"And Rikki and Bella." Cleo answered.

"Okay. Can we all meet at your house in fifteen minutes?"

"Uh, sure. Why?" Cleo questioned.

"One, I want to make sure you're all fine, and two, I want to talk to you about something." Emma explained.

"Okay." Cleo didn't need any other explanation. The line went dead, and Emma hurried to Cleo's house.

* * *

Rikki, Bella, Emma and Cleo were soon all gathered at Cleo's house.

"So, you're alright, then?" Rikki asked, raising her eyebrows as she turned to Emma. She was trying to mask what she was feeling- she had actually been freaking out about her friend being caught in the storm.

"I guess so." Emma shrugged. "I did get wet, though."

"So, you managed to find cover?" Cleo asked.

"Nope."

"You got to the water in time?"

"Nope."

"You dried off in time?"

"Nope."

"Ash saved you?"

"And nope."

"Well, tell us what happened!" Rikki yelled impatiently, throwing her arms out. She was getting quite irritated by now.

Emma just laughed. "I got rescued."

"So, Ash _did_ save you!" Cleo exclaimed.

"Wrong." Emma sang.

"_Emma!_"

"Fine, I'll tell you." Emma smiled, she had somewhat enjoyed annoying her friends and watch their curiosity fuel their actions.

Three pairs of eyes looked at her expectantly.

* * *

"And yeah," Emma said with a small shrug. "That's what happened."

"Wow." Was all Rikki said. "That's... wow."

Emma flopped down on one of Cleo's couches with a sigh while she waited for her words to sink in.

"Mhhm." Cleo nodded in agreement and plopped next to Emma on the couch, putting her arm around her shoulders.

"Now, that brings up another question," Rikki turned on her heel and looked at Emma and Cleo, who were looking at her questioningly. "Who saved Emma?"

* * *

**Ooh! Isn't that exciting! I liked this chapter, but felt kind of bad about the Cleo/Lewis parts. I felt I wrote them a little OOC. And by the way, there is no way in heck that Lewis would do something like neglect Cleo for a month. But it's a crucial part of the storyline, so unfortunately... but anyway, Lewis adores Cleo. It just wouldn't happen, and I often scold myself for writing something so unrealistic. But then I smile- because I'm glad it's unrealistic. **

**Well, I'm**** going to go now. See you soon!**

**Okay, just before I go, one question for you all. **

_**Who saved Emma?**_


	17. Chapter 17: The Mysterious Saviour

**Hello! This chapter is sort of weird... do you want to know what happened to me this morning? Some hostile shard of glass just decided to stab me. How not nice! It really hurt... the pointy bit went into a sensitive part of my foot. Ow! Anyways... I'm sure you'd rather read the chapter than listen to boring old me and my new found feud with shards of glass, so carrying on...**

* * *

Cleo tossed and turned all night. Two things were bothering her.

Emma, and Lewis.

Well, not particularly Emma or Lewis, but something about both situations really bothered her.

There was something crucial she was missing about this whole thing with Lewis, and she couldn't put her finger on it.

And, who was that mysterious person who rescued Emma on the beach? There aren't many random people who see a mermaid lying on the beach and decide to spontaneously help her. But, the other option... it couldn't be someone they knew, could it? Wouldn't they know? Emma said the voice sounded familiar, but wouldn't whoever it was have said something?

It all made her head ache.

She just sighed and tried to get back to sleep.

* * *

Rikki dashed to and fro from the counter to waiting tables. The café was insanely busy, exactly what Rikki and Zane had been hoping for.

When she finally got her break, Rikki walked into the office and flopped down onto the couch. Zane looked up with amused eyes and got up and walked over to his girlfriend. "You okay?"

"Absolutely." She said sarcastically and waved him off.

Zane took her outstretched hand and held it tightly before plopping down beside her.

"Pretty busy day." He commented.

Rikki simply nodded.

* * *

Bella walked down the beach, humming.

She gazed out at the water, it's surface sparkling under the gaze of the sun. She held her sandals in her right hand, watching as the waves lapped onto the shore, almost reaching her feet – but not quite.

"Hey!" A call came from behind her. Bella whipped around, causing a whirlwind of sand to fly around at her feet. She eagerly looked on, wondering who had called her name, then relaxed. It was only Will.

"Oh, hey." She walked those extra few steps between them so he didn't have to run them.

He panted for a second, causing Bella to wonder how long he had been running, before he said something. "What's up? You seem a little... tense."

"Oh, it's nothing." She waved him off and continued to stare out at the waves.

"You sure?"

"Mhhm." Bella nodded.

"Okay." Will shrugged it off. "What are your plans for today?"

"Swimming." Bella said almost dreamily, but then shook her head and tore her eyes away from the water. "Oh, I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe I'll spend some time with..."

Bella paled and lurched forward, as if she were searching for something. Will caught her before she could fall, and watched as the colour returned to her face.

"Bella? Bella, are you alright?" He asked. Bella fell down to the sand, despite Will's secure arms around her. "Bella?" He sat down next to her. Tears started dribbling down her cheeks. "What's wrong, Bella?"

"I'm so sad..." She whispered, and looked to him with glistening eyes. "Why am I sad, Will?"

"I... I don't know." Will whispered back.

She buried her head in her knees and started sobbing.

* * *

"Cleo!" Will burst through the Sertori's with an extremely anxious look on his face. "Cleo!" He yelled, looking around for her frantically.

Cleo looked up from the book she was reading with a surprised look on her face. She dropped the book to her side and ran up to Will. "What is it, Will?"

"Cleo's got a new boyfriend!" Kim hollered from the breakfast table.

"Shut up, Kim!" Cleo yelled back angrily.

"Finally got bored of Lewis, did you Cleo?"

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you!" Cleo shouted – _no one_ talked about Lewis like that. _Especially _Kim.

Cleo realised Kim was holding a glass of orange juice, so she discreetly twisted her hand and it sprayed all over her face.

"Ugh!" Kim stormed into the kitchen and grabbed a dishcloth. "This always happens!"

Will couldn't help but stifle a laugh, whereas Cleo burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter, on the verge of rolling around on the floor.

After a moment to collect herself, Cleo turned to Will. "What is it?"

"Bella."

That was all Cleo needed.

* * *

They both rushed down to the beach, where Bella was still huddled up.

"Bella?" Cleo ran down in front of Bella, causing sand to fly up in small clouds behind her. "Bella, are you okay?"

Bella didn't answer.

"Will, could you leave us for a second?" Cleo looked up to him.

Will hesitantly nodded and walked away.

Fifteen minutes later, Cleo and Bella were walking up the beach to where Will was waiting.

"Just, stay there." Cleo told him as they walked past. Will nodded obediently.

* * *

Cleo took Bella home, and to her room, but not before running into her mother.

"Bella, who's this?" Her mother out her hands on her hips and looked at them with a slight glare.

Bella didn't answer; she just stared at the floor.

Cleo stopped holding Bella's hand momentarily and extended it to Bella's mother. "Hello, Mrs. Hartley. My name's Cleo; I'm Bella's friend."

"Ah, hello, Cleo." Mrs. Hartley shook Cleo's hand with a small smile on her face, quite impressed with Cleo's polite demeanour.

"Do you mind if I take Bella to her room?" Cleo asked. "She's a little... tired."

Bella's mother looked a little confused, she couldn't imagine herself being tired at 8:55 in the morning, but smiled all the same. "Of course."

Cleo nodded and went up the stairs to Bella's room. She sat Bella down on her bed and kneeled down in front of her.

"Will you be okay here by yourself?" Cleo asked.

Bella nodded.

"Okay. Then I'll go."

Bella nodded again.

* * *

Cleo ran back down to the beach, where Will was still waiting, and panted for a few seconds.

"Is this... one of her... mood... thingies?" Cleo panted and looked up to him.

"I think so." Will nodded and stifled a laugh at Cleo's flushed face.

"What's... so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Will was soon receiving a face-full of water from a conveniently placed fire hydrant.

Now it was Cleo's turn to laugh as she took three delicate steps away from him. Will grumbled.

"Anyway, back to the real problem." Will said seriously, but it's hard to be taken seriously when you have water dripping from your hair and face. Cleo just continued laughing.

After a moment to get a hold of herself, Cleo said, "I think I'll talk to Lewis."

Will raised one eyebrow. "You're back on speaking terms with him?"

Cleo crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Will disapprovingly. "Who told you about our current situation?"

"Bella."

"Of course." Cleo slapped her hand to her forehead and groaned. "That girl..." She shook her head and looked up to Will. "She can't keep anything from you, can she?"

Will looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Cleo leant closer to him and whispered in his ear. "I think you know." Then she turned on her heel and started down the beach.

It wasn't long before Will followed her. He jogged to her side casually, his hands in his pockets.

"Yes, Will?"

"What should we do about the Bella situation?" He asked.

"I've told you," Cleo sighed. "I'm going to talk to Lewis."

"How did you two make up, anyway?" He asked, curious.

"I really don't think that's any of your business." She sang.

"Oh. Sorry." He looked down, ashamed.

"It's alright." She said with a smile.

* * *

Emma was walking casually down the boardwalk, when saw a familiar face.

"Rikki?" She mumbled and started walking faster. She ran up to her, a confused expression taking over her facial features. "Rikki, what are you doing here?" She threw a glance to her watch – no, she hadn't been wrong; Rikki was supposed to be working a shift at the café.

"Oh, hey Em." Rikki greeted casually. "Want to go down to the beach?"

"Er, hello?" She gestured to her watch wildly. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere, hmm?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rikki said airily.

Emma groaned. "The café? The thing you run with your boyfriend?"

"Pffft." Rikki poked her tongue out.

Emma's eyes widened and she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.

Rikki laughed. "Chill, Em – Zane gave me a few hours off because... well, because I'm just so super awesome at the powers of persuasion?"

"More like you batted your eyelashes at him until he let you go – which I'm betting wasn't long!"

Rikki just laughed again. "He gave me a few hours off because we had a super-busy morning and I was totally burnt out."

"Oh." Emma said simply. "Well, in that case..." Emma's eyes narrowed and a mischievous smile appeared on her face. "Last one to Mako is a fried fish!" She took off running for the water.

Rikki ran after her. "Don't think you can beat me again, Gilbert!"

"Oh, so you admit I've beat you before?" Emma taunted as they sprinted for the water.

"I never said th-"

_Splash!_

"Oh no you don't!" Rikki eagerly jumped in after her rapidly escaping friend.

* * *

"I won again!" Emma cheered as they surfaced in the moon pool. "Face it – you'll never defeat the master."

"You definitely did _not _win. I totally got here first!"

"That is _not _true!" Emma argued.

"Oh yes it is!" Rikki protested.

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

* * *

The playful bickering went on for another ten minutes.

"Okay - I give up," Emma held her hands up in surrender before splashing them down by her sides. "Draw."

Rikki's face formed into some sort of twisted smirk and she stuck her hand out. "Draw."

Emma clasped it and they shook once before putting their hands to themselves again.

"Now what should we do?" Emma asked, her voice echoing off the cavern walls.

Emma and Rikki looked at each other with mischievous smiles. "Last one to land is a fried fish!"

* * *

Cleo walked down the concrete path, whistling some approximation of the song she had heard playing out of Kim's MP3 yesterday.

Suddenly, she felt like someone was watching her. She span around, but there wasn't anyone she could see. She just shrugged off the feeling and continued walking.

* * *

When she got to Bella's house, she knocked on the door three times. Bella's mother appeared at the door, a smile on her face.

"Cleo! How nice to see you again!" She greeted enthusiastically.

"You too." She peered into the house. "Is Bella home?"

"No, she went out a while ago." Mrs. Hartley replied.

"Oh. Okay, thanks. Bye, Mrs. Hartley!" Cleo waved and walked off.

After making sure Bella's mother had shut the door, Cleo raced to the water and dove in.

She was pretty sure she knew where Bella was.

* * *

Cleo surfaced in the moon pool, expecting to see another tail, which she did.

"Hey, Bella." Cleo swam up beside her.

"Hi."

Cleo pushed herself up onto the ledge and looked at her friend. "You alright?"

Bella nodded. "Just wanted a little time to think."

With a slight nod of the head, Cleo disappeared under the water once more.

She could talk to Bella later.

* * *

Cleo was walking back the way she came, when she got that strange feeling that someone was watching her again.

She whipped around, and knew it wasn't just a feeling anymore.

"Hello?" She called out. She didn't really expect any response, so when she didn't get one, she wasn't exactly surprised. She examined the scene for a moment longer, before turning on her heel and hurrying away.

If she had looked back, she would have seen a figure coming out of the shadows.

* * *

"Rikki!" Cleo knocked on the trailer door. "Rikki!" She sang, "You in there?"

"Yeah, yeah," Rikki's muffled and irritated voice wafted to her Cleo's ears and Rikki opened the door with a rather annoyed look on her face. "I'm coming."

"Good," Cleo said with satisfaction. She started walking down the path again. She stopped, and turned back to Rikki with a smile. "You coming?"

Rikki's eyes widened and she fumbled after her, leaving the trailer door swinging in the breeze.

Rikki tripped over stones and hazardous twigs, unable to mirror Cleo's calm demeanour. "W-where exactly are we going?"

Cleo laughed and reached for Rikki's hand. She broke out into a sprint, which didn't help Rikki's clumsiness at the moment. "Cleo!" Rikki whined like a little child.

"Stop needing to know everything," Cleo laughed as she skipped down the path, dragging a much less enthusiastic Rikki along with her. "Like our friend Will."

"I am not _nearly_ as arrogant and annoying as him!" Rikki protested.

"Oh really?"

"Yes really!"

Cleo just laughed and started running faster.

"Cleo! Stop running! I can't keep up!" Rikki exclaimed.

"Fine." Cleo stopped abruptly, causing Rikki to very nearly land face down on the pavement.

"Are you moonstruck or something?" Rikki looked at her friend wildly, recovering from her near collision with the concrete.

"Nope," Cleo laughed airily. "Just," Cleo tugged at Rikki's hand lightly, "Come on."

"Fine." Rikki huffed. "But slowly."

Cleo poked her tongue out at Rikki.

They started up again, but this time, much slower.

"So, where _are_ we going?" Rikki asked.

"Err..." Cleo thought for a moment. "Zane's place?"

Rikki groaned. "You mean you haven't even thought this _through?_"

"Nope," Cleo laughed. Rikki groaned. Cleo nodded her with her elbow, a smile on her face. "Hey, maybe I'm becoming more like you."

"Not funny!"

"But seriously, Zane won't be there, will he?" Cleo questioned.

"Nope. He's at the café." Rikki's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"No reason," Cleo shrugged as Zane's house came into view. "But I just wanted to talk to the gang."

Rikki raised her eyebrows in amusement and looked at her friend as they stopped in front of Zane's house. "The gang?"

"Whatever," Cleo laughed and opened the door. "Just us four."

Rikki nodded.

"Emma?" Cleo called out, her voice echoing through the large house. "Emma, are you here?"

"Hi guys!" Emma popped up out of nowhere, startling them.

"Em!" Rikki gasped, clutching her chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Emma shrugged. "So, where's Bella?" Emma looked around curiously, as though Bella could jump out and scare them at any moment.

"So," Rikki crossed her arms over her chest and gave Cleo and Emma a disapproving glare, "I'm guessing I'm the only one who didn't know about this?"

Cleo laughed. "Yep."

"Well, that's just great."

Emma and Cleo laughed.

Suddenly the door flew open and a frantic Bella burst in, muttering her apologies.

"Sorry I'm late." She said, looking at the three girls who stood there. "So, how is everybody?"

Rikki stomped into the living room and sat on the couch, arms folded across her chest.

Bella looked at the two mermaids left standing in the room. "Was it something I said?"

Cleo shook her head and stifled a laugh, putting one arm around Bella's neck. "Nope."

"Er... okay..." Bella shrugged it off, knowing Rikki could be more than a little strange sometimes.

"Come on," Cleo gestured to the room Rikki was now in. "Let's talk." She started walking into the room.

Emma and Bella exchanged looks with each other before following Cleo.

When they entered the room, Cleo was sitting on the couch with Rikki.

"Talk about what?" Emma asked and sat down on the floor, not bothering to seat herself on one of the many couches scattered across the wide room.

"Stuff." Cleo shrugged uncomfortably.

"What is it?" Bella sat on the couch Emma was sitting in front of.

"Well... when I was walking today..." Three faces looked at her expectantly. "I had the strangest sense that someone was... watching me." She finished, shrinking down under the gazes of her friends.

"Like a stalker?" Bella said anxiously.

"Maybe you're just paranoid?" Rikki raised her eyebrows and looked at Cleo.

"That's what I thought at first, but then I felt it twice." Cleo explained.

"Okay," Rikki stood up with a serious expression. "This could all be some weird coincidence," She looked at her fellow mermaids in the room. There was a moment's silence. "But just in case, I don't think Cleo should be going anywhere alone."

"Now Rikki, I think that's a little-" Cleo started, but was cut off.

"This could be serious, Cleo." Rikki looked at her friend pleadingly.

Cleo stared up at Rikki for a moment and realised she was serious. She swallowed, and then nodded. "Okay."

"Good," Rikki sat back down on the couch with a content sigh.

"But," Cleo rose her hand timidly, "I just have one question."

Rikki looked at her expectantly.

"Can I go to the bathroom by myself?"

Rikki's face spread into a slow smile and the whole room erupted into laughter.

After the uncontrollable fits of laughter had ceased, Rikki looked at Cleo with a smile. "Yes, Cleo," She stifled a laugh. "You can go to the bathroom by yourself."

"Thank goodness," Cleo said with mock relief. "You had me worried there."

It was all the group could do not to burst into fits of laughter again.

* * *

Cleo's rhythmic footsteps tapped against the pavement.

_I should probably take my glasses off,_ She thought.

Usually, she wouldn't have her glasses on, unless it was just after school, but it was a Saturday, so this couldn't be the case.

The reason she had her glasses on, was because she had been doing some homework out at Mako Island. To most, the very thought would seem crazy. To her mermaid friends, the idea would seem crazy. Or, thinking about it, maybe just Rikki would think it was mad, but not because of Mako, but because the whole prospect of doing homework was completely deranged in her eyes.

Caught up in her own thoughts, Cleo accidentally tripped on a stone, and fell to her knees, scattering her chemistry books everywhere.

"Shoot." She muttered, tears springing into her eyes at the newly formed grazes on her knees. She went to pick up her books, but her glasses fell off. She groaned. "My day just gets worse, doesn't it?"

She picked up her four navy blue chemistry books and stood up, looking at her glasses laying on the ground. With a sound of frustration, she leant over and picked them up, surveying the damage.

They were definitely broken.

She looked at them a moment longer before stuffing them into her pocket, trying not to get cut in the process.

She continued walking, ignoring the crunch as she stepped on the shattered fragments of her lenses.

* * *

Cleo walked into the local optometry store, a pleasant chime reaching her ears as she opened the door. Surely they could fix her glasses? She really didn't want to go home to her father and tell him she had broken her glasses. This was the first time, but she still cringed at the idea.

She walked up to the counter, a polite smile on her face. She fished her glasses out of her pocket, luckily, nothing else was broken except the lenses, so hopefully it wouldn't cost much to fix.

"Excuse me?" Cleo said softly, alerting a clerk who was examining some other glasses on a shelf of her presence. The young woman walked up to her, and she couldn't have been more than 23 or 24. Cleo placed the remnants of her glasses on the counter. "Could you tell me how much it will take to fix these?"

The young woman picked the glasses up and examined them for a moment, before setting them back down on the counter. "Forty-seven dollars."

Cleo gasped. "_What?_"

She didn't have _that_ kind of money.

"I _know._" The girl whispered. "It's such a rip-off. Honestly, these people care more about their pay checks than they do about the people they're supposed to be helping!"

Cleo's eyes widened slightly at the girl's comment. "I don't have much money..." She whispered back. "My dad won't be very happy if I go back home and tell him my glasses are broken."

Cleo knew that they _should_ have been better off, especially now that they had Sam for support, but with Kim's blackmailing Don for her approval of their father's new wife, they were basically in exactly the same place.

"I hear you," The girl whispered back and grimaced. "And I'm sorry. But if my boss finds out I've been even _talking_ to you about stuff like this, I won't have a job!"

Cleo nodded in understanding, and offered the girl a small smile. She took her wallet out of her purse and examined it's contents.

She had thirty dollars, and then there was that twenty Rikki had given her last week... she had really been wanting to save that for when she needed it, but, Cleo sighed, fished the money out, and put it on the counter defeatedly.

"Keep the change." She said moodily. _What's another three dollars?_ She thought. "Actually, no," Cleo shook her head and beamed at the clerk, who had a confused look on her face. "Keep it for yourself. By the sound of it," Cleo shrugged. "You deserve a little perk."

The girl smiled dazzlingly at Cleo and discreetly tucked the three dollars away in her pocket. "Thanks."

"You're very welcome." Cleo nodded at her, a smile flickering up one side of her lips. After the past twenty-five minutes, it felt good to make someone happy. And that, in turn, made her feel happy.

"Your glasses will be ready soon." The girl flashed her a smile and rushed off to some room in the back. Cleo smiled contentedly and sat down on one of the waiting chairs.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Cleo was standing up and walking over to the counter.

The clerk handed Cleo her glasses, and Cleo thanked her.

"I also cleaned them," The girl added, making Cleo look up. "They were looking a little dirty. No offence." The girl's face twisted with worry that she had offended Cleo.

"None taken," Cleo laughed. "They did have a little incident with the pavement earlier."

The girl just nodded and smiled.

Cleo glanced to her watch. "I'd better get going. It was nice meeting you." Cleo extended her hand.

"You too." The girl clasped it and gave it two shakes for good measure. Cleo walked towards the door, but turned and smiled at the girl before leaving. The chime rang in her ears again, but this time she was exiting the store.

_She was nice,_ Cleo thought. _I hope she does well at that job – or gets one she likes better, that offers better pay._

Cleo put her now fixed glasses in the other pocket, and scooped out the last few shards of broken glass out of the opposite one.

Now much happier, Cleo started for Rikki's café.

* * *

_Whoa._ Was all Cleo thought as she stepped through the beaded curtain. Rikki hadn't been lying when she said they were busy.

Rikki noticed Cleo standing at the entrance and smiled in her direction. "Hey –" She handed another customer their juice, "– Cleo."

Cleo laughed and walked up to her. "Hi Rikki."

"You want something?" Rikki asked as she rushed away to blend another person's order.

"It looks like you have enough orders to worry about, without mine being added to the list." Cleo smiled and slid down into – she looked around – what looked like the _only_ free seat in the entire café.

Rikki huffed, but more in exhaustion than in annoyance. "Yeah, but you're special – if it's you, I think I can handle one more."

"That's sweet." Cleo smiled. "And totally not Rikki-like."

"All this working is getting to me," She laughed in response. "Yeah, you're right. I don't need more work, so your order can hold on until all these others have been filled." Rikki rose her eyebrows. "That better?"

"Much."

Rikki laughed. "But seriously, what would you like?"

"Err..." Cleo racked her brain, and then shrugged. "Just a Cranberry Booster please."

"Coming right up." Rikki smiled and turned her back to Cleo so she could get all the things she needed for the drink.

"Oh," Cleo said, causing Rikki to turn around. "And remind me that I owe you twenty dollars, okay?"

Rikki walked to the blender and deposited the required fruit into it. "I thought you were saving that for a rainy day?"

"Yeah," Cleo nodded. "I was. But my glasses broke on my way back from Mako."

Rikki raised her eyebrows at Cleo. "Your way back from Mako _alone?_"

_Darn it!_

Cleo looked up at Rikki. "Oops."

Rikki groaned. "Cleo! I thought I made it clear that I was serious!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms out. "That's it," She untied her apron and threw it down on the floor. "You're not going out of my sight. And you're _definitely_ not leaving alone."

"You're starting to sound like Emma." Cleo mumbled, looking down and feeling like a child who had just been told off about something.

"What was that?" Rikki asked, walking around the counter and to her friend.

"Nothing," Cleo looked at Rikki with a smile – a fake smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Nothing at all."

"Good," Rikki nodded and grabbed Cleo's elbow, effectively pulling her off her seat. "Now, come with me to tell Zane I'm finished for the day."

"Okay, okay." Cleo tugged her arm out of Rikki's grip and followed her to the office. Zane looked up as they entered; pushing the papers he had been looking at aside.

"I'm done for the day." Rikki announced.

Zane raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because apparently I need a babysitter." Cleo grumbled bitterly and glared at Rikki.

"Yes," Rikki nodded and glared back. "Couldn't have put it better myself."

"Err..." Zane looked between the two girls, he knew how stubborn both Cleo and Rikki were – sparks could start at any moment. He knew when not to get involved. Well, most of the time. "May I ask why?" He questioned softly, not wanting to face the wrath of either Cleo or Rikki.

"Nope," Rikki said airily and walked to the door. "Be seeing you." She walked out, an annoyed Cleo in tow.

* * *

She didn't need a babysitter. Really, she didn't.

But, with both Rikki and Emma watching her like a hawk, she couldn't help but feel a little like a child learning to walk. At any moment they could fall and crash to the ground.

Cleo cleared her throat. "I'm going to go..." Both Rikki and Emma watched her expectantly, ready to jump up and go with her to wherever she was going. "To the bathroom."

Cleo stood, not even waiting for a response from either of them, and walked down the hall. She went into the bathroom and leant against the door – she actually hadn't needed to go to the bathroom, but she needed to get away for a moment. She felt like she was being suffocated.

With a shrug, she exited the bathroom, and went into her bedroom, collapsing on the bed after she had closed the door.

Emma and Rikki were probably thinking, _after her escapade earlier, she really needs an eye watching over her._ But she _didn't_. She could take care of herself.

A slight movement outside and a rustle of leaves caught Cleo's attention, and she looked out her window. She saw a flash of movement and gasped.

Her heart thudded furiously. That movement, it couldn't have been made by an animal... only a person could have done that.

Cleo paled.

Someone_ was _watching her.

Suddenly, Cleo felt very insecure and scared. She ran downstairs, startling Rikki and Emma, who hadn't moved.

"Cleo, what's wrong?" Emma questioned.

"Someone – watching – outside." Was all she managed to choke out. Tears were springing into her eyes, and Emma and Rikki looked worried.

Suddenly, a knock on the door made them all jump, especially Cleo.

Rikki casually went over to answer it, revealing a smiling Bella.

"Hey," She greeted, peering into the house to look at Emma and Cleo. "I thought I'd come be part of the Babysitter's Brigade."

"Sure." Rikki stepped aside so Bella could come in.

Bella looked at Cleo with concern. "Everything okay?"

"No," Cleo shook her head. "Everything is not okay."

"Then tell us," Emma said gently, "What's bothering you?"

"Someone was outside my window," She choked out, to get three faces that were a mixture of shocked and terrified in return. "I didn't see them, but someone was definitely there."

Before anyone else could react, Rikki pulled Cleo into a hug. "It's okay," She said in a soothing voice as Cleo shivered with fright. She pulled back and looked Cleo in the eyes. "Now we have to take this seriously."

Cleo nodded.

"I'm sorry, Cleo." Emma whispered.

Rikki sat down on one of Cleo's couches, and Cleo sat next to her, looking at her expectantly. After a moment, Rikki spoke. "Okay, don't go alone anywhere. At all. Always have one of us with you. No walking around after dark, and don't talk to any strangers." Rikki shrugged and looked at Cleo concernedly. "All the things like that. You got it?"

Cleo nodded solemnly. "What about the Marine Park?"

"We can be there, can't we?" She looked to Bella and Emma, knowing she couldn't be there because of the café.

Emma and Bella nodded simultaneously.

"But, I talk to strangers everyday there."

"Well..." Rikki pondered. "That will have to be the exception."

"Okay." Cleo nodded.

Soon after, Bella went to the bathroom, and Emma went into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"Rikki?" Cleo looked up at Rikki, her hazel-green eyes shining. Rikki looked at her, with a mixture of concern and expectancy. "I'm scared." The two words came out so quietly they barely came out at all.

Rikki pulled her friend into a hug and petted her hair. "It's going to be okay, Cleo. It's going to be okay."

* * *

Cleo walked down the boardwalk, in a happy mood. But, of course, she was accompanied by Rikki, or another of her mermaid friends.

"We're going to my house, right?" Cleo asked Rikki, who was to her left.

"Yup." Rikki nodded.

Cleo's house soon came into view, and Cleo was running up to it.

"Hey Cleo!" Rikki called after her. "Wait up!"

When she got there, she was panting, and Cleo was opening the door. It seemed as though Bella and Emma were already there, judging by the smiling faces that had greeted them as they walked in.

"Hey guys!" Cleo said enthusiastically and sat down on a couch.

"You seem awfully happy." Bella noted.

"Yeah, I guess." Cleo shrugged.

Emma smiled. "That's good."

"Oh," Cleo stood up, and her face looked as though she had just remembered something. "Bella, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh, sure." Bella shrugged. Cleo took Bella by the elbow and led her away from the others, making sure they were out of earshot.

Cleo brought something out of her pocket, it was a small jar, containing a green substance that had small flakes of... well, _something_ scattered through it.

"Eat this." Cleo shoved the item into her hands.

"What?" Bella asked, bewildered. "Why?"

Cleo groaned. "Just please, don't question me."

Bella shrugged and looked at her friend. She had been through so much lately. Surely she could fill one request for her, no matter how strange it may seem?

Bella nodded and unscrewed the cap. She looked down at the contents and grimaced, before taking a deep breath in, closing her eyes, and tipping whatever it was, into her mouth and swallowing it. She shuddered.

When she opened her eyes again, Cleo was smiling brightly and it seemed as though Bella had done well.

"Thank you." She said happily. She took the plastic container back, and put it in her pocket, before linking arms with Bella and happily skipping back into the room.

Bella was a little surprised, but shrugged it off. She had made Cleo happy by doing what she requested. If she couldn't do that, what kind of friend was she?

Cleo flopped down on the couch with a smile.

"So..." Emma started. "You came here to talk to us about something?"

"Oh, right," Cleo said, hopping up. She started walking across the room. "There's been something that's been really bugging me," She looked at all of her friends. "Emma's saviour." That's what they had all decided to call him, whoever he was, and at the time, Rikki had added with a smirk, _'Yeah, Ash better watch out._'

"Err... what about him?" Emma shifted in her seat, still a little uncomfortable with the topic, and especially the name.

"Well... it's been annoying me to no end that you said you almost recognised the voice," She turned to Emma. "And yet, whoever it was hasn't come forward."

"This is supposing that whoever it was, knew the secret?" Rikki rose her eyebrows.

"It's not very common that someone sees a stranded mermaid and decides to help her," Cleo said almost immediately, "And plus, Emma said he knew her name." Rikki and Cleo looked at Emma.

"Yes." Emma nodded.

"You see what I mean?" Cleo said frustratedly. "It just doesn't add up." She stopped for a moment. "And it's killing me."

"So," Rikki cleared her throat and looked at all of them and stood up, walking a little bit away so her back was to them. "He knows her name, knows the secret, was someone she recognised..." She stopped.

"Oh my..."

"What is it?" Cleo asked curiously.

Rikki turned to them, her face solemn.

"It's Lewis."

* * *

**Oh my, so dramatic! If you guys think it's getting a bit too serious with Cleo having a 'stalker', just please, bear with me. Yes, there are inverted commas for a reason. **

**I really liked this chapter. Especially with Cleo's glasses breaking. You know what? It kind of reminded me of my incident with the shard of glass! That's funny, 'cause I wrote this chapter ages ago... but I thought that the 'scenes' were far too short. Grumble grumble. And, you may also think that Rikki is jumping to conclusions about never letting Cleo be alone etc, but it's supposed to be that way. Oh! And Bella's strange emotional thingies _are _a symptom of her sickness, and I put that in this chapter because I felt like her sickness, and the night on Mako Island was all being forgotten, because it was at the beginning, and hasn't really been mentioned at all. Okay, this is turning out to be a really long monologue, so I think I should stop typing...**


	18. Chapter 18: Girl Time

Cleo paled.

"W-what?" She stuttered, holding onto the sofa for support.

Rikki didn't reply, she just went and sat next to Cleo. "It couldn't be him." Cleo whispered.

Emma looked at Cleo with soft blue eyes. "It was." Her eyes shifted down to stare at the floor. "I mean, now I recognise it." She walked over to Cleo and knelt in front of her. "Are you okay?"

Cleo stood up, disbelief shining in her eyes. "I-I have to go." She pushed past Emma and went for the door.

"Cleo, wait!" Her friends called after her.

But she was already gone.

* * *

Cleo felt the rush of the water against her.

_Why?_

_Why didn't he tell me?_

Her tail swished up and down almost rhythmically, while Cleo squeezed her eyes shut, letting her mermaid instincts take over.

She just wanted to blot out the day.

Invisible tears flowed out of her eyes, the water making them invisible.

_Why wouldn't he tell me?_

Cleo remembered all the times she and Lewis had shared.

He heard what she said when she was silent.

He liked her the best when she was a mess.

He knew how it hurt, when everything fell apart, and it seemed like it wasn't worth going on anymore.

But most of all, he made her feel beautiful like no one else could.

Cleo's tears stopped. She paused in the water and turned around, heading for the mainland.

* * *

Cleo sat on the beach, looking at the phone in her hands.

She put the phone up to her ear and heard a familiar voice on the end of it.

"Lewis?" She asked, her voice filled with hope.

"Hey, this is Lewis, I'm not here right now, but –" Oh. It was just his stupid voicemail.

_Okay._ She shrugged. _Then I'll leave a message._

She cleared her throat and waited for the dull beep. "Lewis..." She started. "Um... listen, I know you're here. In the Gold Coast. I'm not mad, but I'd wish you'd told me. I mean... would you like to... erm... talk? I don't know why you're avoiding us, maybe you don't want to see me anymore, but I want to talk to you, and... thank you for saving Emma. That was you, wasn't it? If it wasn't, I probably sound pretty stupid... well, anyway. Bye." She put her phone on the sand and let out a sigh of relief.

_I should probably be getting back to my house now.._. She thought. She started walking up the beach and back to her house.

When she opened the door, Emma raced to the door with wide eyes.

"Cleo! What in the _world_ were you thinking! Don't you realise how serious –" Cleo cut off her anxious ramblings.

"Chill, Em." Cleo said. "It's not like anyone could follow me to the water."

Emma stepped down, and her eyes weren't so wide anymore. "Oh."

Cleo nodded at her. Rikki stepped up to her, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?" Cleo knew exactly what she was referring to. Lewis.

Immediately, a slow smile flickered across her face. "I'm okay."

Rikki suspected there was something they didn't know, but decided to leave it alone.

"Is everybody okay?" Emma asked, looking around at her fellow mermaids in the room.

"Yep." Cleo nodded with a smile.

"You betcha." Rikki twirled around.

"Yeah, sure." Bella said with a slight shrug.

* * *

_The next morning..._

Emma walked through the beaded curtain of the café, her hair blowing back slightly as she walked up to the counter. She was looking for someone.

She scanned the café whilst leaning against the counter, when her eyes landed on the exact person she was looking for. She smiled.

She ran over to her, calling her name. "Bella!" A bright smile flickered across her face.

"Er, hi, Emma." Bella answered, turning to her.

"Listen," Emma started, clearing her throat, while Bella looked at her expectantly. "I was wondering if we could maybe spend some time together? I want to get to know you better. I don't want either of us feeling like the odd one out. I want us to be friends." She smiled.

Bella smiled brightly. "Sure, I'd love that."

"Great."

* * *

Bella and Emma were walking through the mall, when Emma said:

"Ice cream, right?" She asked and looked to Bella with a smile.

"You bet." Bella laughed. Emma looked around, and spotted an ice cream store a block away.

"Over there!" She pointed and tugged on Bella's arm. Bella noticed it too, and the girls began to run towards the shop.

They entered the store which seemed to have a white and red theme to it, and Emma put nine dollars on the counter.

"Emma, you don't have to pay for me, you know." Bella said with a smile.

"Nonsense. My treat." Emma laughed.

"Thanks." Bella paused and looked at all of the ice cream options. "I guess I'll have a strawberry ripple. What do you want, Em?"

"Um..." Emma's eyes darted up to the sign displaying all of the ice creams. "Double chocolate, please."

"Coming right up." The waiter said and turned to make their ice creams.

"Thanks, Em." Bella smiled brightly at her friend.

"No problem." Emma replied and strummed her fingers against the counter.

Moments later, their ice creams were ready, and they were walking out of the store, laughing.

"Hey Emma?" Bella asked, causing Emma to look at her. "My ice cream is dripping a bit. Would you mind?"

"Oh," Emma nodded in realisation and then laughed. "Sure." She discreetly stuck out her hand and Bella's ice cream froze over. "There you go." She said happily.

"Thanks." Bella licked at it. "Mmm, yum."

They both laughed.

"I've had a lot of fun today," Bella said with another lick of her ice cream. "Thanks Emma."

"No problem." Emma smiled.

* * *

Emma and Bella powered through the water, on their way to the moon pool after their time at the mall.

When they surfaced, they pushed themselves up onto the rock, their tails swishing from side to side.

"We bought so much stuff." Bella laughed.

Emma looked at her and smiled. "We sure did."

Emma looked up through the cone of the volcano, staring at the blue sky above them.

"I should probably be getting back," She said. "Bye. I've had a great time."

She ducked under the water, leaving only one mermaid floating in the moon pool.

* * *

Cleo sat down on her bed, staring down at the floor. She turned her phone over in her hands.

She shifted her feet, making patterns in the carpet. She still hadn't gotten a call from Lewis.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

She walked out of the door dropping her phone on her bed.

She walked down the stairs and outside, deciding, that she could take care of herself.

* * *

Emma bit her lip nervously as she flipped her phone over in her hands.

She held her phone up shakily, Bella's words of advice ringing in her ears.

_I think you should tell your parents where you are, they'd understand._

And her own response was still fresh in her mind, too.

_Maybe. Tell you what, I'll think about it._

Emma _had_ thought about it. A lot. Probably to the point where it affected her behaviour. She sighed and shakily dialled her mother's number.

"Hello?" A voice on the other end answered.

Emma couldn't find the words to answer her. She inhaled, calming her rapidly beating heart. "Er, hey, mum."

"Emma?" Her mother's voice sounded faint. "Emma, is that you?"

Emma sighed. "Unless you have another daughter you've been hiding all these years, I'm pretty sure."

Hyperventilating started on the other end of the phone.

"Mum, _breathe_." Emma said urgently, afraid that her mother was going to have a heart attack or something.

A high-pitched squeal – that reminded Emma far too much of Miriam – sounded through the speakers, and her mother's garbled speech started. "Oh my goodness, Emma! Where are you, honey? How did you... well, how did you make it? Goodness, I should go get your father." She rambled.

"Mum, calm down." Emma said quickly. "I'm willing to answer questions," She cringed. "Just, I don't want you making a big deal out of this. But feel free to fire away." And that's when the chaos started.

"Where are you?"

"What are you doing?"

"Who are you staying with? If you're staying with Ash – honey, I like him, but any sane parent wouldn't let their daughter live with their boyfriend."

"What are you eating?"

"Who's looking after you?" Emma thought that question as basically the same as what she had asked before, but she let her mum ask it anyway.

"How did you survive? Elliot said you jumped in the water with no warning. I know you can hold your breath, but..." Her mother trailed off and her voice became quiet.

"We had a funeral."

Emma froze. "What?" She whispered.

"Everybody came. Everybody cried. We wanted to hold it at home, in Australia, because we know how much you loved it there; but your father's work wouldn't allow that. We played all of your favourite songs and talked about you and your friends. We tried to contact them, but we couldn't get through."

Emma swallowed. She felt a little lightheaded when she realised that the she had dodged disaster. The Sertori's had gone on their trip just in time to miss hearing about any of this, and nobody knew Rikki's father's number. But, all of them knew she was here. Mr Sertori in fact had welcomed her home, and asked to see her father and mother. She had come up with some excuse. Jetlag, or busy unpacking, or something like that.

"Sorry to make you go to the trouble." Was all Emma could choke out.

The questions resumed. "What are you doing when it's... that time of the month?"

Emma groaned at that.

"What are you doing for money?"

"_Why _did you run off?"

"Why haven't you called us before now?"

"Is everything alright?"

"Okay, mum, stop." Emma interrupted. She took a deep breath in. "That's enough questions for now."

"Are you going to give me answers?" Her mother asked.

"I'll try," Emma said weakly. "Okay, what was the first question?"

"Where are you?"

"Err..." Emma bit her lip. "I'll answer that one later."

"Okay..." Her mother said suspiciously – or it might have been curiously – Emma was too flustered to tell the difference. "What are you doing?"

"Could you be a little more specific?" Emma asked.

"What's your daily routine?"

"The usual." Emma said airily.

"Um, okay... who are you staying with?"

"Um..." Emma trailed. She _should_ tell the truth. She coughed. "Pass."

"I knew it was Ash," Her mother muttered. "Is he treating you well? He's not out of line, is he?"

"Mum!" Emma whined. "Ash is a perfect gentlemen. You know that." She scolded.

"I guess..." She sighed. "Okay, what are you eating?"

"Mum?" Emma asked incredulously. "I'm eating normal stuff." Emma was beginning to think her mother was quite nosy. But then again, they all thought she was dead.

"Good. Who's looking after you?"

Emma thought for a moment. "I'm looking after myself."

Emma's mother was silent for a moment. "Okay..." She said hesitantly before moving onto the next question. "How did you... survive?" She asked quietly, so quietly Emma almost didn't hear her.

"Um..." Emma swallowed uncomfortably. "Pass?"

"Answer it later," Her mother sighed. She quickly moved on. "What are you doing when it's that time of the month?"

"Mum!" Emma protested, squirming a little.

"It's a perfectly sensible question." Her mother responded.

"A perfectly sensible question that I will not answer," Emma fired back. "Next question, please."

"What are you doing for money?"

"I'm alright," Emma answered. "I have enough money."

"Good." Emma's mother sighed in relief. She moved onto the next question. "Why did you run away?"

"Err..." Emma coughed. "Well..." She just couldn't find an answer. "I'll pass."

"Fine." Her mother said, clearly upset. She was silent for a little bit after that, before she asked the next question. "Why didn't you call us before now?"

Emma sighed. "At first, I was never going to call you." She said, and then thought about Bella. "But then, I thought about it for a long time, and, well, here we are."

Emma's mother seemed a little dissatisfied with this answer. "Okay. Is everything okay? How are you?"

Emma smiled for the first time since the conversation started. "I'm good."

"I'm glad," It sounded like she meant it. "Now, where are you, so we can come there straight away."

Emma's eyes widened. "Really?"

Her mother laughed. "What did you expect us to do? Stay here while you're all alone? Not a chance we're leaving our eldest child to fend for herself."

Emma swallowed, happy tears forming in her eyes. "Australia," Her voice came out quiet. "I'm in Australia."

"How did you manage that?" Her mother gasped. "You couldn't have paid to get there by yourself."

"Never mind that," Emma said in a quick attempt to change the subject. "So, when are you coming?"

"As soon as we can," Her mother replied happily. "I'll go tell your father. Goodbye, Emma. Be safe."

"Thanks, mum. Bye." Emma brought the phone to her lap, and she could hear the faint sounds of her mother dashing off, shrieking for her father to come down the stairs. Emma laughed and hung up.

She lay down on the bed, smiling brightly. Everything was working out.

* * *

Cleo walked along the beach, her footsteps muffled by sand. She was alone, and had somehow managed to dodge Rikki.

She had been thinking. Lewis' apartment had looked a lot different. The walls had been a faded cream colour instead of the bright white of his dorm. His bed – well, she wasn't even sure there had even been a bed there. And the place looked a whole lot cleaner than Lewis' scattered and messy room.

Cleo rubbed at her eyes. She was tired. She didn't know why – maybe it was all of the crying, maybe it was the oncoming headache _caused_ by the crying – she didn't really know.

_Come on, Cleo! _Her subconscious yelled at her. _Toughen up! Stop crying all the time! You're being a baby!_ Cleo couldn't help but think the voice sounded a tiny bit like Rikki.

_You're a mermaid with awesome superpowers!_ Yep, definitely Rikki. _You don't need to cry all the time! Stand up for yourself! _Cleo was beginning to the think the voice had a point. She did cry an awful lot. She didn't stand up for herself very often – it was always Rikki or Emma.

She needed to do things herself.

She didn't need Lewis, or Rikki, or Emma.

She didn't need _anybody._

* * *

Rikki was at the café, when her phone rang.

Rikki held it up to her ear. "Hey, Em."

"Hi, Rikki." She answered quickly, as if she were excited. "Guess what?"

There was a moment of silence. "Oh, you actually want me to guess?" Rikki asked. "Uhh... little green space aliens invaded and are now holding you captive against your will?"

Emma snorted. "Yeah, basically. But, really. I just called my mum!"

"Wait, what?" Rikki's eyes widened. "You mean, you're not with Cleo? I mean, I'm happy for you and all, but, you're _not with Cleo?_"

"Uh, no. I thought you were with her." Emma answered.

"Well, _I_ thought _you_ were with her!" Rikki retaliated.

"This is bad."

* * *

Bella stared down at the identifiable green something in her hands. She shuddered. Why did she ever agree to this?

She had told Cleo she would take this... disgusting _thing _to make her happy. She twisted the cap off and grimaced.

_Repulsion in a jar,_ She thought before tipping the horrible contents into her mouth and swallowing hard. She squirmed uncomfortably. _Why_ did Cleo insist on her taking this?

Bella was tired of all these secrets. The way everybody acted around her now. They thought she didn't notice, but she did. She crossed her arms over her chest.

_At least I had a great time with Emma, _She thought.

Suddenly, a glint of water caught her eye. She shrugged, it _did _feel like the perfect time for a swim.

She looked around cautiously, but oddly, no one was around. Perfect. With one last glance behind her, Bella dove swiftly into the water.

* * *

Emma ran up and down the beach. "Cleo!" She called out. "_Cleo!_"

Emma looked around. She couldn't see her friend. "_Cleo!_" She yelled, her voice strained.

_Okay, maybe she's not here._ Emma thought.

She looked around once more and the corners of her mouth turned down into a frown.

Cleo definitely wasn't here.

She stomped up the beach and took out her phone to call Rikki.

A little further down the beach, Cleo was hiding under an outcropping of rocks. A smile formed on her face. Emma hadn't found her.

She had felt like she needed time to herself.

But how long that was going to be, she had no way of knowing.


	19. Chapter 19: Accidental Confession

**I think you guys are gonna like this chapter...**

* * *

Cleo groaned and rolled over in her bed. She looked at her alarm clock and immediately threw a pillow at it.

She had given up on her hiding away from her friends, she knew she needed time to think, but she figured there she could find a much less immature and childish way to do it.

Five minutes later, she trudged out the door without even a word to Sam, the wind blowing in her hair.

* * *

"Emma?"

"Emma?"

"Emma!"

Emma twirled around with an annoyed look on her face. "What do you _want?_"

Ash put his hands up in surrender. "I just thought I could talk to you."

"Sorry," Emma said and pressed her hand to her head. "I'm just not feeling very well."

"What's wrong?" Ash asked with concern.

"I'm nervous." She whispered.

"About what?"

Emma looked up at him and realised she hadn't told him about the conversation she'd had with her mother.

"Nothing." She said and started walking quickly away from him. She spotted a close body of water and dove into it.

Ash just gazed after her forlornly.

* * *

Rikki came running up to Cleo, a thundering look on her face.

She pushed Cleo squarely in the chest.

"What do you think you're doing?" She growled. "I spent all night looking for you!"

And when she said that, it looked like she meant it. Her hair was unkempt, and her breathing was ragged. It didn't look like she had slept at all.

"Sorry," Cleo said apologetically. "I couldn't... I'm sorry."

Rikki sighed. "Cleo..." She trailed off. "Cleo, listen. I know you're upset with everything that's going on, but just..." She took a moment to collect her thoughts. "You really had me freaked out. Just don't do anything like that again."

And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Cleo standing there, her hair blowing in the breeze.

* * *

Rikki ran and dove into the water.

She swam all the way to the moon pool. She pushed herself up on the ledge and wiped furiously at her burning eyes, letting out choked sobs every few seconds.

_Rikki?_

"Huh?" Rikki span around, looking at every inch of the moon pool. There wasn't anybody there. But that voice. It sounded so familiar...

_Rikki?_

There it was again. Something clicked in Rikki's brain.

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "Oh. It's you, isn't it?"

_Try not to sound so disappointing, Rikki._

"Whatever."

_Whatever. Such a good word, don't you think?_

"Guess so."

_You're very closed off today, Rikki._

"I'm always closed off."

_That is true._

There was a moment of silence before Rikki spoke up. "Why are you choosing to talk to me again?"

_You'll have to specify._

"I mean, I've been in the moon pool plenty of times and you didn't talk to me." Rikki wiped at her eyes again.

_You're crying._

"Not a good reason and I'm pretty sure it's not the real one." She murmured.

_You never cry._

"True."

_Why are you crying?_

"I'd rather not talk about it." Rikki muttered.

_Ah, a conflict with a friend._

"How do you know it wasn't with Zane or something?" Rikki fired back.

_Not telling._

"You just – you know what? This is ridiculous. I'm arguing with a voice that's probably not even real."  
_  
__I feel offended._

All of a sudden, the voice changed.

"Does this seem real?" A girl walked out from behind an outcrop of rock.

She was dressed in a beautiful white dress that flowed down to her knees, and she had light blonde hair.

Rikki gasped. "What? How did you –" She stuttered. The girl laughed. She sat down, hanging her feet over the ledge of the moon pool and threading her feet through the water. "How can you be real?" Rikki whispered.

"I'm not," The girl smiled at Rikki's bewildered expression. The girl shuffled closer to Rikki. "You're unconscious."

Suddenly, the girl wasn't there anymore. It was just Rikki, floating there in the moon pool. She felt something warm trickling down her forehead. She put her fingers up to her face and gasped when she saw blood.

Rikki felt along her head and determined it was only a small cut, which she probably got when she fell unconscious and knocked her head on the rock. She figured she must have fell asleep or something.

Rikki ducked under the water and washed the tears and blood away. She lifted herself out of the moon pool, and grabbed the first aid kit that Lewis had hidden away in a crevice when they first became mermaids. She took a band-aid an pushed the kit back into it's place so it looked like it hadn't been touched.

She stuck the band-aid on her head and pressed it down gently, grimacing when it stung. She stood up slowly and dove into the water, on her way to the café.

* * *

Emma sat there with a sad expression on her face, her hand outstretched in a stop position.

She concentrated on her glass, and froze three squares of water, one at a time.

There wasn't really any point to this, except that it took her mind off her parents and stopped her worrying about the confrontation.

She sighed.

* * *

Will had tossed and turned all night.

The result was messy hair, heavy eyes, and a limp body.

Horrible nightmares had plagued his sleep, and he remembered them as if they had really happened.

_There were three girls. One was brunette, and two were blonde. They were standing far away from him. For a moment he wondered if they were Cleo, Bella and Rikki.__But when the brunette girl opened her mouth, he knew they weren't._

_"Julia," She started, before one of the blonde girls cut her off._

_"Gracie! Stop being such a – argh!" The girl threw up her hands and stormed away._

_"She's just being herself. I wouldn't worry about it." The blond girl left whispered to the brunette girl, who was apparently called Gracie._

_"Yeah, but I just... we fight with her all the time, Louise." Gracie said with a sigh._

_"I know, Gracie." Louise put an arm around Gracie's shoulder. "I know."_

_Suddenly, the scene blurred, and the girls weren't there anymore. Now, there was a new set of girls, and they again, were blonde, blonde and brunette. __He peered closer, and realised they were Cleo, Emma and Rikki. But they looked a lot younger._

_"That's it! I can't do this anymore!" Rikki screeched and stormed away._

_"Rikki, wait!" Cleo called after her._

_"No!" Rikki spun around, her face thundering. _

_"We're fifteen, mermaids, and our lives are falling at our feet!"_

_"Yeah, and everyone will know it if you don't tone it down!" Emma hissed._

_"I don't care! I'M A MERMAID!" Rikki screamed and ran away._

_Will frowned. He had always thought that Rikki was the one to embrace their mermaid secret._

_The scene blurred once more, and again, there was another set of girls standing there. __He squinted. Again, it was Cleo, Emma and Rikki. But they looked a lot older this time._

_It was snowing. Rikki was running away from Cleo and Emma, who were chasing after her._

_"Please, Rikki, stop!" Cleo pleaded and caught her arm._

_"No!" Rikki screamed, tears streaming down her face. _

_"I hate you!"_

_"Please, Rikki, I think you're overreacting." Emma said._

_"Overreacting?" Rikki gazed at her with icy blue eyes. "OVERREACTING?" She pointed an accusing finger at Cleo. "She just kissed my husband! I think it's a wonder I haven't burned her from the inside out yet!"_

_"Please, Rikki –" Cleo pleaded, tears starting to fall._

_"I don't want to hear it!" Rikki screamed and raised her hand. _

_A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, in between Emma and Cleo__._

_It struck them down._

_Rikki kept running._

That's when Will had woken up.

He shivered at the memory. It had felt so real.

He walked out of his boatshed and stared at the water. He sighed.

He walked back into the boatshed to be met with his red-headed sister.

"Will, you need to train today, not hang out with that distracting Bella." She said as though she were scolding a child.

"Whatever, Soph."

"No, not _whatever,_ yes! You _will_ train today, and not hang out with some strange girl!" Sophie yelled, throwing her arms out.

Will glared at her. "She's not strange."

Sophie took a step toward him. "Yes she is."

Will looked at her and sighed. "Why do you hate her so much?"

"She distracts you. You don't train nearly as much as you used to, and you're always spending time with her." She explained. "And there's something about her. Something that doesn't add up."

Will frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Whatever." Sophie turned and walked away from him.

Will sighed.

* * *

Rikki walked into the café.

She went into the office to be met by Zane.

"Rikki, you have a cut on your forehead." Zane stepped toward her with a concerned look on her face and examined her forehead.

"Yeah, I know." She tried to push him off but winced when the cut started stinging.

"Here, let me help." He turned his back to her and retrieved a tube of cream from his desk. He walked back to her and peeled the plaster off, rubbing the cream onto her cut after doing so.

"Ouch." She grimaced at the pain.

"Here you go." Zane said and put a fresh plaster on.

Rikki pouted. She hissed with pain as the cut stung.

He gently kissed her forehead. "There." He said and smiled. "That better?"

Rikki went on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Much."

* * *

A knock echoed through the house.

Emma got up begrudgingly and opened the door.

"Ash? What are you doing here?"

"Hi to you too." He laughed. He peered behind her and into the house. "Is Zane here?"

"Why?" Emma narrowed her eyes. "If you still don't like Zane –"

"No, it's not that." He shook his head. "So, is he here?"

"Nope."

Ash smiled. "Good."

"Why?"

"Can I come in?"

"You're dodging the question."

"Yes I am. Can I come in?"

"Come on! Just tell me!"

"Nope. Now, let me in."

"Not until you tell me why you don't want Zane here!"

"No way."

"Then I guess you're not coming in."

"I think you'll find that I am."

"I think you'll find that you're not."

"What if I had a water pistol behind my back?"

"What if Zane was here?"

"Then I'd carry you screaming and drop you in the water."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I guess you'll never find out because, oh look, he isn't here. Now let me in."

"No!"

"Do you _want_ to be thrown in the water?"

"Of course not!"

"Then let me in."

"I'll freeze your feet."

"I'll kiss you."

"No!"

"Let me in, then."

"I don't want to!"

"You asked for it." Ash smiled and grabbed Emma by the waist, throwing her over his shoulder.

"No! Ash! Let me go!" She shrieked, pounding on his back with her hands.

"If you say so." Ash plonked her down on the couch and sat next to her.

"Hmpf." Emma huffed and pushed him on the shoulder.

Ash laughed. "That was fun."

"For you, maybe." Emma grumbled.

"Hey," He kissed her on the forehead. "You did ask for it. You didn't let me in."

"Because you wouldn't tell me why you didn't want Zane here!" She whined.

"One, he aggravates me, two: I want to actually talk to you, three: I just really, really, really don't like him. I mean he just annoys me and he's a jerk and –"

"Okay, I get it."

"Huh." Ash tapped his chin with his index finger. "I guess the third and first reasons are kinda the same, aren't they?"

Emma laughed. "All rational thinking flies out the window when it comes to you and Zane."

"No, all rational thinking flies out the window when it comes to you," He smiled softly at her. "All sanity flies out the window when it comes to Zane."

Emma laughed.

* * *

Cleo sat on the beach, huddled up, her knees tucked up to her chest.

"Cleo?" A voice came behind her and she heard footsteps behind her.

Cleo didn't turn around. "I don't want to talk to anybody right now. Unless you need another bottle of the stuff I gave you, if you need that then –"

"No, I don't." Bella sat down next to her.

"Then please leave." Bella took note of the seriousness in Cleo's voice and stood up, taking a few steps away.

_Should I really leave her like this? _She thought. _She looks so sad..._

"Go, Bella."

"Okay..." Bella said hesitantly and walked away.

Cleo sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

Bella walked away, looking down dejectedly. Suddenly, she bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry Will." She muttered when she saw who she'd bumped into.

"It's fine." He shook his head and looked at her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong?" Bella said quickly.

"That just proves my point further."

Bella sighed and shuffled her feet. "Cleo."

"What's wrong with Cleo?" Will asked and stepped beside her.

Bella looked at the ground. "Don't know."

"Here, come with me." Will took her hand and led her down a spiralling path, which ended in a secluded beach.

"Er... is this the place I think it is?" Bella asked.

"Yup."

"Come on." Bella tugged on his hand and led him to a different entrance to the beach, the one they more commonly used.

"Here." Bella ran to the shore and Will followed her.

Bella twisted her hand, and a spearhead-like object was made out of the water. She hardened it and nodded to Will. He picked it up and dried it with his t-shirt before handing it to Bella.

"Thanks." Bella smiled at him and ran back over to the entrance of the beach. She pressed the hardened spearhead against the rock and called Will over.

"Will? Could you help me? I don't think I'm strong enough." She said. Will hurried over to her and placed his hand over hers on the spearhead. They pushed it down, and it made a mark in the rock.

They continued to do this, but made letters.

After ten minutes of this, _Diving Point_ had been engraved in the rock. That was what they had always called this place.

"There." Bella said with satisfaction. She turned to Will and smiled. "Thanks."

Will shrugged. "No problem."

Bella took his hand and smiled. "You're the best."

Will smiled back at her. He rubbed her hand with his thumb. "Thanks. You're pretty awesome yourself."

Bella laughed. "Will, why did you bring me here? I mean, _here?_"

"I thought it would be nice," He shrugged and looked down. "To talk."

"Will, are you okay?" She asked.

Will looked at her uneasily. He knew he couldn't lie to Bella. "No. And I don't think you are either."

Bella smiled. "No. I'm not."

"You tell me what's bothering you and I'll tell you what's bothering me." Will offered.

"Err..."

"Come on," He nudged her. "I promise I'll tell you after you tell me."

"Well..." Bella started uneasily. "There's kind of two things."

"Tell me both of them."

"Well, there's..." Bella started pacing.

"Hey," Will took her by the shoulders and looked at her. She stopped pacing. "Calm down."

"Okay." She nodded and went and sat down on the sand. Will sat down next to her.

"There's..." Bella shifted in the sand. "Well, there's Cleo. I found her sitting on the beach, and she told me to go away. I don't know what's bothering her. Except this Lewis thing..."

Will put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "If you'd like, I could talk to her, or Rikki could, or Emma. Maybe she just feels like you guys don't understand what she's going through."

"Maybe." Bella shrugged.

"What's the other thing?"

"Tell me what's bothering you first." She said with a firm nod.

Will laughed. "Okay." He started, and then cleared his throat. "I had these..." He hesitated. "Don't worry."

"Will..." Bella looked at him and then sighed. "Don't feel pressured or anything."

Will smiled at her. "Thanks."

Bella leant into him and sighed. They stayed like that for a while, until Bella murmured something almost unintelligible.

"I love you, Will."

"Wait, what?" Will pulled back and looked at her.

Bella stared at him for a moment.

"Oops?"

* * *

**OH MY GOSH! I feel so _awesome_, giving the people what they want. I mean, you've been waiting forever. When I was writing this, I was like, FINALLY! Hoped you like the chapter. Unless you're against Wella. That wouldn't be fun. :( **


	20. Chapter 20: Together At Last

**Hey guys! Sorry about making you wait so long to find out what happens with Bella and Will. I meant to update on Monday, but I was sick, so instead I'm doing it today, on Friday. Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

"Umm..." Bella hurriedly pushed herself away from Will and stood up. Every instinct was telling her to _run. _And that she did.

"Bella, wait!" Will called after her. She ignored him.

"But I really like you, Bella!" He yelled.

She skidded to a stop. She turned to look at him, wide-eyed. "_What?_"

"Are you saying I didn't yell it loud enough?"

"I'm saying I don't believe it!" She yelled back at him.

"Then at least stop running."

"Do you see my feet moving?"

"Could you maybe, I don't know, come over here?" He asked.

"Could _you_ come over here?" She retorted. The whole conversation was getting quite ridiculous, especially as they were calling out to each other at a distance of approximately 18 metres.

"I could, but then I could just as easily walk away."

"Don't do that!"

"See? If you don't come over here..."

Bella moodily stomped over to Will. For a girl who's dreams had just come true, she was being a little arrogant.

"Not fair." She pouted.

"Bella, look." He took her hands in his and looked at her seriously. "I don't want this to be a repeat of last time."

"Me neither." She fixed him with her gaze. "But I wouldn't be able to bear it if the mermaid club turned against you and –"

"Listen," He interrupted her. "That's my problem." He took a breath in and smiled at her. "And after all, I could always take Ash's advice. If this doesn't work out I move to Italy and change my name."

Bella laughed.

"And look," He squeezed her hands tighter. "I _want_ to be with you."

Bella looked up at him and smiled. "I do too." She whispered, and then realised what she had said. "I mean, not with me, with you. I don't want to be with me, that would be weird and annoying and –"

Will laughed. "I get it."

"So we're in agreement?" Bella asked.

"Looks like it."

"No more being haunted by the title of _just friends?_"

"I never liked that anyway."

"So..."

"Together?" Will asked hopefully.

Bella smiled. "Together."

* * *

_The next day..._

Rikki paced around the office, thinking about something that, quite frankly, made her want to break out into song. But Zane had banned her from doing that, saying she couldn't hold a note if her life depended on it.

She grumbled bitterly at that.

"Zane!" She hollered.

Zane came rushing in, to see what the emergency is.

She pouted and started up the puppy dog eyes. "Please? Can I do it now?"

Zane rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't you prefer an audience?"

Rikki walked smugly to the door and opened it, showing a waving Emma, Bella and Cleo. "I have all the audience I need."

Zane rolled his eyes again. "Fine."

"Yay!" Rikki clapped her hands childishly. She gave Zane a quick kiss on the lips before checking her hair and smoothing out her clothes, making sure she looked good for what she was about to do.

"Doesn't that deserve another kiss?" Zane asked, tapping his lips.

Rikki fixed him with an icy glare. "It'll deserve a whack on the head if you don't watch it."

Zane backed away and put up his hands in surrender, watching as Rikki's face turned from a scowl to a wide smile.

She walked professionally out the door, Zane following her with a sigh.

Rikki stood in the middle of the café, looking very much like she had something to say. Everyone spoke in hushed voices, waiting in anticipation.

"Sophie? Could you come here please?" Rikki asked as nicely as she could.

Sophie scowled. She dropped the dishcloth she was carrying and walked over to Rikki.

"What do you want?" She snarled.

"Now now, that's no way to talk to your boss." Rikki said as if she were scolding a child.

"Co-boss."

Rikki rolled her eyes. "Not anymore." She said, taking a step closer to Sophie. "Sophie, you're fired."

The room erupted into cheers, applause, and laughter. Most of which was coming from a certain table seated with a certain three mermaids...

"_What?_" Sophie hissed.

"Didn't I say it loud enough?" Rikki asked, scowling. "_You're fired!_"

"But – but I'm the best waitress you've ever had!" She stuttered.

Rikki snorted. "Ha! More like the worst!"

Sophie didn't say anything further. Her scowl deepened. She shoved Rikki out of the way and stormed to the door, knocking a tray of drinks onto Emma, Bella and Cleo's table whilst doing so. The girls jumped up to avoid the splash, but it was too late for Emma.

"Run, Emma!" Cleo cried. "The office!"

Emma dashed to the office, slamming the door shut behind her. No one saw anything, and Rikki soon came in to dry her.

"Hey," Rikki said as she crouched next to Emma, preparing to dry her off. "With Sophie gone, we're one person short. How would you like to replace her?"

Emma looked at Rikki as she got her legs back. "Um..." She scrambled to think. "Maybe, yeah. But after my parents come back and everything back to normal." She ran a hand through her hair. "That has me a little stressed out."

"Of course, of course." Rikki nodded in understanding._ It must be hard for her, _She thought.

Emma mumbled a thanks and hopped up and walked out.

Rikki paused for a moment before following her.

"I'm so glad I finally got to fire her." Rikki said with a dramatic sigh as she sat down. "I was going out of my mind."

Cleo laughed. "Tell me about it."

"Okay, there's something I need to tell you guys." Bella blurted out suddenly, her eyes widened like a child's.

"Yes?" Rikki turned to her quizzically, while Cleo and Emma said things along the same lines.

"Well..." Bella cleared her throat, and then something caught her eye. Or rather, someone.

"Oh, Will!" She got up in a rush and hurried over to him. "It's great that you're here."

"Uh, I'm here?" He looked around confusedly as Bella took his arm and led him over to the small group. "Here for what exactly?"

Bella went on her tip toes and whispered something in his ear, causing his eyes to widen. "Oh."

"See?" Bella said gleefully.

"Er... okay..." Will said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"The suspense is killing me." Emma said jokingly.

"Well, it really _is _killing me." Cleo piped up. "Come on, spill."

"Okay..." Bella took a deep breath and entwined Will's fingers with hers. "Well..." She shot an uncertain look to Will. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "Will and I..." She found herself smiling. "Are together!"

Cleo screamed and shot up, causing her chair to topple to the floor. She started jumping up and down.

Emma jumped up and hugged Bella, a huge smile on her face.

Rikki was silent for a moment, a very serious look on her face. Everyone looked at her. "FINALLY!" She screamed, causing every head in the café to turn and look at her.

"Talk about a delayed response." Cleo snorted.

"I'm so happy for you." Emma said excitedly.

"Me too." Rikki agreed.

"Me three." Cleo beamed.

"You girls up for a swim?" Bella asked eagerly.

"You just gonna leave your _boyfriend_ here?" Rikki gestured to Will.

"He'll survive." She turned to Will. "Won't you?"

"Yeah." Will nodded shyly. "You go do your mermaidy thing."

Rikki slapped him on the back of the head. "Let's go."

"Hey, where are you going?" A voice called after them. A voice Rikki identified as a certain over-protective, jealous potato sack.

"Out." She replied airily.

"Out where?"

"Who cares?"

"I do."

"Then I'll not tell you just to annoy you."

"I'm much better at that game than you."

"Oh really?" Rikki shot him a challenging glare.

"Yes really." He said firmly.

"Well you can just –"

"Rikki, I would advise you to stop talking now." Cleo said firmly and clamped her hands on Rikki's shoulders. "We're going somewhere cold, Zane. Somewhere blue. Somewhere Rikki wouldn't mind downing you."

Zane paled a little.

"I knew you'd figure it out." She said as she pushed Rikki firmly out of the café.

* * *

A little while later, the girls were in the moon pool, talking, laughing and playfully splashing each other with their tails.

"I'm glad you two got things worked out." Rikki said while getting splashed in the face by Emma.

"Sounds like it's been a rather bumpy ride." Emma said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, I guess." Bella shrugged shyly.

"We probably shouldn't be talking about boyfriends." Rikki said ashamedly, throwing a subtle look at Cleo.

"What?" Cleo looked around at her friends. "Oh, don't worry about me. He would've called by now if he wanted to talk."

Rikki frowned. "I swear if I ever see him –"

"Rikki," Emma warned. "Don't start down that track. Remember last time? This is Lewis we're talking about, not some illegal fish-seller."

Rikki huffed and sunk a little under the water. "Fine."

"Anyways, I've got to be going about now." Cleo said and pushed herself to the entrance.

Rikki exhaled noisily. "Me too."

"I'll be going then." Emma sighed.

"So you're just deserting me?" Bella said in a joking tone.

"Yup." Rikki said before disappearing under the water.

"Bye, Bella." Cleo said before following Rikki.

"See you." Emma waved and then vanished, leaving Bella alone with a trail of bubbles.

* * *

Rikki walked through the beaded curtain to the café, peering around.

"Rikki, you're back." Zane said happily and walked up to her, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah. What do you want me to do?" She asked, surveying the café to see how busy it was.

"Could you take those tables?" He gestured to three tables on the other side of the room.

"Sure thing." She said and proceeded to do as she was asked.

Zane looked at her and smiled.

* * *

_Ring. Ring. Ring_.

"Will?"

"Hi Bella." Will's voice sounded a little off when she heard it.

"Anything wrong? Wait... is that _shouting?_" Bella asked anxiously.

"Err... yeah." Will said uneasily. "Sophie's less than happy about being fired."

"_Oh._ " Bella said in realisation. "You have fun with that."

"Bye then."

"See you."

* * *

"Dad, I'm going out. That okay?" Cleo called down the stairs.

"Yeah, honey. Go ahead." Her father replied.

"Thanks, dad." She smiled and skipped down the stairs and out the door.

* * *

"Rikki, could you come here please?"

"Just a second," Rikki called as she wiped down a table. "Okay," She turned to the office and started walking. "What is it?"

"Come inside." He opened the door for her.

"What's so serious?" She asked once he had shut the door tightly. "Is it the full moon and I haven't realised?"

"No," Zane shook his head. "But I've gotten a call from Cleo."

Rikki groaned and turned away from him, running her hands through her hair.

"Rikki, listen." Zane said in a pleading tone and Rikki turned to him. "I know you're still a little upset with her, but she was just here today, and everything seemed fine. Just _try._"

Rikki stared at him for a long time. Finally, she sighed. "Fine. But only for you."

"Thank you." Zane smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the greatest." She walked up to him and gave him a lazy kiss on the cheek. "And kind of tired. Can I go home?" She opened her eyes and looked at Zane.

"No way. You're not getting out of this thing with Cleo." He chastised.

"Darn it." She muttered and ran her fingers through her hair. "I guess you got me."

"I just know you too well." Zane smiled.

"I guess." She flopped down on the couch and then pouted. "But I really don't want to talk to Cleo!" She whined.

Zane sat next to her and stared at her. He knew she wasn't so good with feelings and stuff. "Rikki, you just need to talk things out and then everything will go back to normal."

Rikki exhaled noisily and sunk back into the pillows. She looked at him. "You think so?"

Zane smiled. "Yeah."

* * *

Cleo knocked on the door nervously.

"Come in." An annoyed and muffled voice wafted to her ears and Cleo twisted the knob.

"Hey, Rikki." She stood there like a child waiting to be scolded.

"Cleo." Rikki said and did nothing but nod to her.

"Sorry about the other day." Cleo looked down and shuffled her feet awkwardly.

"What was going through your head?" Rikki asked in an accusing tone.

"Something very childish." Cleo replied.

"What was going through your mind, _specifically?_"

"Er... well... I was just really upset about Lewis hiding from me, and I thought... well, I just needed time... and I didn't know how long that would be, so, I hid." She explained with a small shrug.

"You're right." Rikki sighed. "That is childish."

Cleo rolled her eyes and sat next to Rikki on the couch. "Look Rikki, I'm sorry. I was just so upset about Lewis and..." She trailed off and Rikki looked at her. "You know we made up before I found out he was here? It was like he wanted everything to be okay just so he could hurt me again." Tears sprung into Cleo's eyes.

"Oh, Cleo." Rikki enveloped Cleo in a tight hug. "It'll be alright."

"I wish I could believe you." Cleo sniffed.

Rikki pulled back and looked at Cleo intently. "You should believe me." She said. "Hey, how about you forget about Lewis for a while? Go shopping with me?"

Cleo wiped at her eyes furiously before looking at Rikki. "I'd like that."

* * *

**Hey again! I just want to say I've been getting some... _strange _reviews lately. I don't know whether it has anything to do with April Fools (which was weeks ago, so I don't really think so), or if people have just decided to start acting the way they have and started reviewing like that. I wish for whoever it is to stop, or the multiple people to stop. I don't really like opening up my emails and seeing a reviewer calling me a swearword. I've noticed that some of them just express their 'opinions' as they call it, but, there _are _actually forums and things like that to do that on, there are actually some on this site, so I ask you to do that there, and leave your criticisms or complements for this story as a review.  
**

**Thanks for listening.**


	21. Chapter 21: An Unexpected Appearance

**Hey there! I'm sorry it's taken me a week longer than usual to update, but I think you'll like this chapter. It's full of _drama. _And I was sick. Sorry.**

* * *

A few weeks later, Bella and Will were going great, Zane and Rikki were normal – despite the casual conflict – and Cleo was still consumed in her sadness.

"Will?" Bella knocked on the door of the boatshed cautiously. "You in there?"

The door abruptly opened, causing Bella to nearly stumble forward.

"What are you doing here?" Sophie snarled.

"I'm looking for Will," Bella smiled kindly back at Sophie. She had vowed she would never stoop to her horrible level. "Is he here?"

"No."

"Is that Bella?" A familiar voice came from inside the boatshed.

Sophie muttered something unintelligible.

"Hi Will!" Bella called loud enough for him to hear it. She looked at Sophie. "Can I come in?"

"Whatever." Sophie grumbled and stepped aside to let Bella in.

"Thank you." Bella said happily and walked inside.

"I'm leaving, okay Will?" Sophie called from the door.

"Okay, Soph." Will said distractedly. He was too busy looking at Bella with complete and utter adoration to really concentrate on anything else.

Sophie let out a frustrated sigh and glared at Bella. "Bye then." She slammed the door behind her.

Bella frowned. "She doesn't seem very happy."

"No, she isn't." Will sighed.

"Did you tell her about us?" Bella smiled and reached for his hand.

"No." He sighed when Bella frowned. "But only because she's really upset right now about losing her job. I don't want to add to that and give her a reason to hate you more." He offered her a weak smile and squeezed her hand. "But I'll tell her soon, I promise."

Bella sighed and walked away from him. She leant against the wall, arms folded. "Okay..."

"What's wrong, Bella?" He asked.

"Oh no, I was just thinking." She waved him off.

He walked towards her. "If you say so." He shrugged.

Bella nodded and walked into the kitchen. "I'm just getting a drink," She called.

Will heard the tap running, and then a soft "Oof!" and something hitting the floor.

"Bella? You okay?" He called.

"Fine!" Was the slightly strained answer. "Just got a little wet!"

"Do you need some help?" He asked.

"I'm good, it was just a drop!" She called back.

"Okay..."

Moments later, Bella was walking out of the kitchen, glass of water in hand.

"Told you." She said as she sat down.

Something on Bella's watch beeped.

"What's that for?" Will asked. Bella looked down at her watch.

"Oh, I have to go." She got up hurriedly.

"Go?" Will go up with a confused look on his face. "Go where?"

"Oh, just some thing." She waved him off and opened the door. "See you."

"See –" The door slammed. "– you."

* * *

_Rikki's P.O.V_

I watched Cleo sucking sadly on her straw. She looked so miserable. I knew she was thinking about Lewis again.

It was so horrible. She and Lewis were so perfect for each other, and they had been through so much. And he had to go and ruin it by doing all this.

I swear, if I ever see him... well, I can feel the room heating up just thinking about it. But what I can't understand is, why would he do all that? Lewis wasn't the type. In all the years I've known him, he was caring, sensitive, and always swooped in at the slightest hint of trouble. Especially when it came to Cleo. You could sense the love radiating off them thirty five metres away whenever they were together.

He couldn't have done the... well, the _list_ of things we have him pinned down for. Either he has an evil side we don't know about, or we don't have all the facts. Of course that doesn't excuse the things he's done to us and Cleo, but maybe, if we knew everything, it would help us understand a little more...

"Is it hot in here?" A customer's complaint pulled me out of my thoughts. At that moment I knew I should probably stop thinking about all this.

I sighed and gathered up some empty cups and put them on the tray in my hands. I walked behind the counter, dumped the glasses in the sink, and unintentionally leant over the bench, staring at Cleo while she dejectedly flipped through a magazine.

"What's up?" Zane came up and wrapped an arm around my waist. I didn't even look at him; I just kept gazing at Cleo.

"I'm really worried about her," I said eventually. "She misses him like crazy, even after what he's done."

"Cleo's a survivor," He said, leaning his head against mine. "And anyway, she doesn't like people worrying about her."

"Doesn't mean I can't worry in secret." I sighed.

There was a moment of silence. "She's been through a lot." Zane said. He turned to me, smiling. "And you guys are mermaids with awesome superpowers. Lewis ought to watch his back." He kissed me on the cheek before walking away.

I smiled. Zane was right. Not about the awesome superpowers – although they are pretty awesome – or Lewis needing to be scared, but about something else. Cleo is a survivor.

_No P.O.V_

After that, Rikki happily went and sat down next to Cleo.

"Hey, Rikki." She greeted flatly.

"Do you want another juice?" Rikki asked, realising that Cleo's glass was almost empty.

"No thanks." She said and turned another page over on her magazine.

"What are you doing today?" Rikki asked, peering over Cleo's shoulder to look at the magazine she was reading.

"No idea." Cleo's voice stayed monotone.

"You up for a swim?"

"No." Rikki was almost surprised. But in her current state, it was a wonder Cleo could get out of bed in the morning.

Rikki looked at her friend. She pondered for a moment about dumping a pitcher of water over her head just to see if it would get a reaction. She quickly dismissed the idea.

"Come on, Cleo." Rikki got up and tugged at her arm. Cleo looked up at her, blinking in the light.

"Where are we going?"

"Remember you promised you'd go shopping with me?" Rikki questioned, raising her eyebrows. "Well now I'm holding you to that promise."

Cleo looked at her for a moment. "Sure." She said and got up.

"Come on." Rikki said and stuck out her arm, looking at Cleo hopefully.

Cleo smiled and threaded her arm through Rikki's.

"Listen, Rikki." Cleo said as they walked out of the café.

"Yeah?" Rikki looked at her friend with a wide smile.

"I want to get rid of this going-with-me-everywhere thing. I want to be able to go places alone." Cleo explained.

"It's not like you actually listen anyway." Rikki grumbled under her breath.

"Please, Rikki?" Cleo looked at her pleadingly.

Rikki sighed and looked at Cleo for a moment. "Fine. But if you see anybody the slightest bit suspicious, you come to me, okay?"

"Okay." Cleo said happily.

"So, to the mall?" Rikki asked, beaming.

"Yup." Cleo replied. She looked at Rikki and smiled. "Now, walk or swim?"

* * *

"Here we are!" Rikki exclaimed, full of enthusiasm once the two reached the entrance of the mall.

"Yeah, I guess we are." Cleo said with a shrug.

"Come on." Rikki took Cleo's hand and led her inside.

"What should we get first?" Cleo asked once they were inside, gazing around at the various stores.

"Shoes," Rikki said with a wide smile. "We should get shoes."

"Okay then." Cleo nodded and pointed to a shoe store. "Shoes it is!"

* * *

"Cleo, a little help here?" Rikki called across the store. Cleo turned to her, seeing Rikki holding up two pairs of shoes.

"Black or red?"

"Umm..." Cleo looked between the two options for a second. "Red." She looked at them for a moment longer and then nodded. "Definitely red."

Rikki smiled happily and turned to the counter with a waiting clerk. "These two pairs please." She said and pushed forward the red pair of shoes and some silver ones Rikki must have chosen while Cleo wasn't looking.

"Cleo, have you chosen yours?" Rikki called over her shoulder.

"Almost." Cleo called back. After a moment of looking at the two pairs of shoes in her hands, she walked up and placed them on the counter.

"And that comes to... $30.50." The clerk said and looked at Cleo.

"Okay." Cleo nodded and fished through her purse for the money.

The clerk turned to Rikki. "And for you... $32.40."

"Sure." Rikki shrugged and pulled some stray dollar notes out of her pocket.

"Here you go." The clerk pushed two bags containing their shoes towards the girls.

"Thank you." Cleo smiled and took her bag off the counter. Rikki did the same and they both walked out of the store.

"What next?" Rikki asked enthusiastically.

"I don't know," Cleo shrugged. "You choose."

* * *

Bella was walking across the beach, her hair blowing in the gentle breeze, when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

**Hey.****  
****- Will**

Bella smiled at the screen. She fiddled with the crystal hanging from her neck before swiftly replying.  
**  
****Hey yourself.****  
****~ Bella**

**Would you like to go to the café with me?****  
****- Will**

**Dunno... I don't think Rikki's there, and I know Zane isn't your favourite person in the world.****  
****~ Bella**

**The beach, then?****  
****- Will**

**I'm already there.****  
****~ Bella**

**I'll be there soon.****  
****- Will**

**Sure.****  
****~ Bella**

Bella slipped her phone back into her pocket and looked out at the waves.

* * *

"Makeup?" Cleo asked with an excited face, her arms straining to keep up with the numerous bags she had in her arms.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about getting some new lipstick, so..." Rikki trailed off, spotting a makeup store not that far off.

"Something to really wow Zane, huh?" Cleo teased.

"What? No!" Rikki cried incredulously.

"Yeah, right." Cleo rolled her eyes and they started walking to the store.

"Wow..." Rikki said, her eyes widened once they entered the store.

"I'll just be over here." Cleo said and nodded to the other side of the store.

"Sure, sure."

* * *

Will walked up to her, panting.

"What did you do? Run all the way here?" She asked with a light laugh.

"Yeah," He gasped. "Yeah I did."

"I was joking, Will." She groaned.

"Whoops." He smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Anyway..." Bella rolled her eyes and stared out at the waves.

"What are you thinking?" He asked as he reached for her hand.

"Oh, nothing in particular." She said and turned to him.

"So, what are your plans for the end of school?" He asked, swinging their intertwined hands back and forth.

"I don't really know yet, honestly." She sighed.

"Hey, you don't need a plan yet," He said and softly nudged her. "I was just curious."

"Okay," She sighed again. Suddenly, she turned to him. "Hey, would you like to meet my mother?"

Will looked at her, surprised. "Uh... okay," He said and then paused. "What about your father?"

Bella scowled. "Never mind him," She spat. "I'm on worse terms with him than I am with my mother."

"Okay..." Will said hesitantly, wanting to ask more about her father, but she obviously didn't want him to.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Bella asked, her mood drastically changing from bitter to happy in a matter of seconds.

"Nothing, I don't think." He shrugged.

"Can I come over tonight?" She questioned.

"Sure, if you want to." Will smiled. "That would be great."

"Great," Bella said happily. "I'll be there around... seven?" She looked to Will for confirmation.

"Sure," He looked at her and smiled. "That would be fine."

* * *

"Rikki, you have lipstick all over your face!" Cleo burst into fits of giggles.

"Uh oh." Rikki frowned and retrieved a tissue out of her bag, wiping all of the misplaced makeup off her face.

"Here." Cleo took the tissue out of her hand and wiped the last smudge of lipstick off her cheek.

"Thanks." Rikki smiled at Cleo while she tossed the tissue in the bin.

"Okay, we've spent –" Cleo looked at her watch and laughed. "A long time here. We should probably go."

"Okay." Rikki nodded and they walked out of the store.

"So, I should probably call Bella. I haven't seen her all day." Cleo commented.

"Okay, I'd call Emma while you're at it – Cleo? Cleo? Cleo, what is it?" Rikki questioned, seeing Cleo freeze, her eyes widened and her mouth agape.

"Cleo! Come on, snap out of it!" Rikki waved her hand frantically in front of Cleo's face.

"Lewis?" She whispered, causing Rikki's eyes to travel to where Cleo's gaze was resting. "Lewis!" Cleo screamed, and started running.

The boy who Cleo recognised to he Lewis looked up, and his eyes widened. "Oh no." He said with dread.

He dropped the bags in his arms, causing a huge clatter, turning numerous heads.

Lewis took one last look at the frantic Cleo running toward him and took off.

Rikki stood there, staring, watching as Lewis disappeared from the scene.

* * *

**Whooaaaa. Lewis, again? Really? You guys are probably like: 'hey, we've played this game before, you're just messing with us again,' But I'm not! Honest! But if you really don't believe me, I guess you'll just have to wait 'till chapter twenty two to find out... (Whoa, twenty two? This story is growing faster than I realised!) Well, actually... that isn't entirely true. I've got everything up 'till almost the end of chapter twenty nine finished, so I know _exactly _how fast this story is progressing. So, I know things like... if that was Lewis, if the tentacle is gonna show up next full moon, if Emma is gonna _die _next full moon... but _you'll _just have to wait! **


	22. Chapter 22: A Day At The Marine Park

**Hey! I had a HUGE power cut about a week ago. The power was off for _five _hours. Exciting, huh? Anways, here's the chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Lewis twirled her round while she laughed.

"You know I love you, right?" He murmured into her hair.

"I love you too." Cleo beamed. Lewis smiled softly down at her, and leaned down to kiss her –

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.__  
_  
The annoying buzz of Cleo's alarm clock ripped her out of her fantasy.

She groaned and reached for her phone.

_Meet me at Mako ASAP_. She typed quickly and pressed send.

* * *

Rikki woke up to the sound of her phone receiving a message. She groaned as she picked it up, lazily reading the words on the screen.

_Meet me at Mako ASAP. _It was from Cleo.

Great. She had to get up now.

* * *

Rikki sped to Mako, wondering what on earth Cleo was so stressed about. Probably the whole thing with Lewis yesterday...

Rikki surfaced in the moon pool, and Cleo was already there, playing with her hands.

"Hey," Rikki said as she pushed herself up on the ledge. "What's up?"

"I don't know..." Cleo shrugged. "It's just..."

"Lewis is here." Rikki finished for her bluntly.

"Yeah." Cleo shrugged uneasily. "But it's not the most ideal situation."

"Tell me about it," Rikki sighed and looked at Cleo. Her eyes were red, and her body was limp and tired. "Come here." Rikki swam over and enveloped Cleo in a tight hug.

"I love him so much, Rikki." Cleo whispered.

"I know, Cleo. I know." Rikki said soothingly and petted her brown hair gently.

"I need to talk to him." Cleo sniffed as they pulled apart.

Rikki sighed. "You'll have to find him first."

"I think I'm going to go talk to Emma." Cleo said as she wiped at her eyes. "She'll probably have some logical plan for all of this."

Rikki looked at her friend and let out another sigh. "I'm not sure there's anything logical to do here, Cleo." She swam to the entrance and took one last lingering look at Cleo.

"Call me if you need anything, okay?"

Cleo nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Good." Rikki offered her a weak smile. She stroked Cleo's arm comfortingly before swimming out, her tail splashing behind her.

* * *

Cleo had tried to fix up her appearance, but she had feared she had failed. She just sighed as she knocked on the Bennett's door again.

Zane opened it, surprised to see Cleo there.

"Hi Cleo... you look... good." He squirmed uncomfortably under Cleo's gaze.

Cleo snorted. She had known Zane long enough to know if she had looked good he wouldn't have said anything. Oh well, at least he was trying. The old Zane would have told her outright she looked a mess.

"Is Em here?" Cleo asked, peering behind him and into the house. "I'd like to see her."

"Sure, sure." Zane stepped aside to let her in. "I was just going, anyway."

Cleo walked further into the hallway and she heard the door close after her, and knew Zane had left. Cleo listened for a moment for any sounds that would alert her as to where Emma was. Nothing. She was probably in her room.

Cleo walked up the stairs and noticed how they creaked every two or three steps. _It must be an old house or something._

Cleo walked down the hall and cautiously knocked on the door which she thought led to Emma's room.

"Em? Are you in there?" Cleo opened the door slowly, to see Emma twirling around on the carpet, with a teddy bear hugged tightly to her chest.

"Oh, hey Cleo." She beamed at the sight of her friend. "Must not have seen you there." She walked over to the stereo in the corner and turned off the music blasting out of the speakers.

"Were you dancing or just happy in general?" Cleo asked with one eyebrow raised and an amused expression on her face.

"Happy in general," Emma sighed contentedly and flopped on the blue bed. "My parents are coming home today!"

Cleo's eyes widened. "That's great!" She exclaimed and hugged her friend. Then she frowned. She didn't want to spoil Emma's happy mood with her troubles.

"Why the sad face?" Emma laughed and poked at the side of Cleo's head.

"Oh, nothing." Cleo attempted to smile. "Just thought I'd spend some time with you."

"They're not coming until nine tonight." Emma hopped up and turned to her. "So we have plenty of time."

Cleo nodded blankly. Emma obviously thought that was what she was worried about.

"Lets go down to Rikki's," Emma took Cleo's hand and skipped to the door. "I feel like a smoothie."

Cleo nodded with a smile and followed her. Cleo felt her mood brighten as they walked out the door.

"You know, Rikki offered me a job at the café." Emma chatted happily as the walked to Rikki's.

"That's great." Cleo smiled, and she found that it wasn't forced. "Are you going to take it?"

"Well, I was thinking of accepting after my parents came back, so yeah!" Emma said excitedly.

"I'm really happy for you, Em." Cleo smiled and nudged Emma in the shoulder.

"Thanks." Emma smiled back at her. "Come on." She took Cleo's hand and led her inside Rikki's Café.

"What'll it be, girls?" Rikki asked with a smile once they came up to the counter.

"Surprise me." Emma said with a small shrug.

"And you, Cleo?" Rikki looked at Cleo softly.

"Banana Beat Box, please." Cleo replied.

"What's got you so happy, Em?" Rikki asked as she tipped the contents of Emma's surprise smoothie into the blender. "You're humming, fidgety, and generally out of it."

"Oh, right." Emma shook her head. She had been thinking about meeting her parents again, and hadn't noticed Rikki speaking to her. "My parents are coming back today."

Rikki smiled. "That's great, Em!"

"Thanks." Emma replied and took her newly served smoothie off the counter and went to sit down.

"How are you fairing, Cleo?" Rikki asked as she turned the blender on to make Cleo's drink.

"I'm alright," Cleo said with a small shrug. "But I haven't told Emma, so don't mention it."

Rikki nodded. "Thanks for the warning."

"No worries." Cleo smiled and took the drink from Rikki before the two of them went and sat down with Emma.

"I'm going to spend a little time with the girls, cover for me!" Rikki called to Zane as she walked toward Emma's booth.

"Sure thing!" Zane called back with a smile.

The girls chatted about different things, and a lot of the time the conversation turned to mermaid tails. They talked happily until Bella slid in next to Emma.

"Hey guys!" She greeted with a cheery smile. "What's happening?"

"Nothing much." Rikki said as she swirled her straw through her drink.

"Oh, Rikki!" Cleo exclaimed, exasperated, and hit Rikki playfully on the shoulder. Rikki rolled her eyes and Cleo turned to Bella. "Emma's parents are coming home today."

"Oh, that's so great!" Bella exclaimed, brimming over with enthusiasm. "Emma, I'm so glad for you!" Bella beamed and threw her arm around Emma, giving her a tight side-hug.

"Thanks Bella." Emma smiled warmly.

"Anything else – beside Emma's tremendous news – going on?" Bella asked, looking at her friends.

Rikki flitted a look to Cleo. "Nope." She took another sip of her smoothie. "Do you want a drink, Bella?"

"No thanks." Bella shook her head.

"How are you and Will doing?" Cleo questioned.

Bella smiled dreamily and Rikki and Emma had to keep from snorting with laughter. "We're really really good." She sighed happily.

Rikki kept her head down and sucked on her straw, but on the inside she was laughing uncontrollably.

"That's good." Cleo smiled.

"Okay, I'm bored." Rikki yawned.

Emma glared at her.

"What?" Rikki asked innocently.

Emma rolled her eyes and huffed. Rikki grinned.

"It's like you enjoy winding me up." Emma grumbled and blew at her fringe.

"Wherever did you get that idea?" Rikki asked, faking shock.

Emma just grumbled something indecipherable.

"Break it up guys." Cleo said in a gentle but commanding tone.

Suddenly, a jingle could be heard from across the room as Will entered the café.

"Oh, you'll have to excuse me a sec." Bella murmured and shot out of the booth.

Rikki rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Hey, be nice to her." Cleo scolded and punched her on the arm.

"I think I was being nice." Rikki mumbled and blew bubbles through her straw.

"Oh, as if." Emma grinned.

The beeping of Cleo's phone interrupted the playful conversation.

"Oh, sorry guys – I have to go." She said while getting up. "They're understaffed or something at the Marine Park and need me there." Cleo shot her two friends apologetic looks and scurried out of the café.

"That just leaves the two of us, huh Em?" Rikki asked with a smile.

"I guess..." Emma mumbled.

Rikki's expression turned into one of confusion. "What's up? You seem kind of distracted."

"Oh no, just thinking." Emma shrugged and took another sip of her juice.

"Okay..." Rikki said, confused. She wasn't so good at figuring out a person's feelings, or knowing if they even _wanted_ them figured out. "I'm just going to go sort some stuff out." She stumbled out of the booth and walked across the room. She looked back to Emma. She was looking down, and fiddling with her locket.

Rikki sighed. She knew what this was about. She walked up to Bella.

"I need you." Was all she said before she started dragging her across the room.

"Ow! Rikki, what for?" Bella complained. Rikki let go of her arm, giving Bella a chance to rub at it.

Rikki flitted another look at Emma. She had now unclasped her locket and was turning it over. Rikki sighed again. She knew Emma accepted Bella as part of the group, but when she had found out they had switched their necklaces, it had really hit her hard.

"Listen, Bella..." Rikki said anxiously, and she found that she was fiddling with her own necklace now.

"Yeah?" Bella asked curiously, then frowned. She knew Rikki only played with her crystal when she was anxious. _What on earth could have made her that worried?_ She thought.

"Do you remember the lockets we used to wear? Before we changed them to crystals?" Rikki asked gently, and she thought she could feel a headache coming on.

"Yeah, I do..." Bella asked confusedly, unsure of where Rikki was going.

"Have you noticed how Emma wears one just like it?"

Something clicked in Bella's brain. _Of course. How did I not notice?__  
_  
"Yeah..."

"Well, Emma's really upset, and I think it has something to do with the lockets," Rikki shrugged uncomfortably. "So, I was wondering, if... I don't know... we could wear them for a while? Just to cheer her up?" Rikki looked at Bella hopefully and prayed she didn't react badly.

Bella instinctively reached for the crystal hanging from her neck. "So, what you're asking me is..." Bella took a second to gather her thoughts. "Let you swap the lockets for the crystals just to make Emma feel better?"

Rikki swallowed. When put that way, it did sound rather silly. She took a deep breath. "You have to understand Bella, those lockets belonged to the three original mermaids. They symbolise our friendship and our secret. They mean everything to us."

"Then why did you change them to crystals?"

Rikki sighed and gritted her teeth. _Bella isn't making this easy, is she? _"Bella, it would mean everything to Emma to see Cleo and I wearing our lockets again. Please? For her?" Rikki looked at Bella hopefully. She knew how rarely Rikki said please.

Bella looked at Rikki, and there was a moment of silence. "Okay."

Rikki's face broke out into a smile and she hugged Bella. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Bella murmured.

"Say..." Rikki tapped her finger on her chin, and it looked like she was thinking very hard about something. "Would you like to go to the Marine Park with me to visit Cleo?"

Bella smiled. "Sure! But why? I mean, why now? All of a sudden?"

Rikki shrugged. "I just haven't visited her at work for a while and thought she could use the perk. And plus," She cringed. "The last time I _did_ visit her at work, well, let's say when I left we weren't exactly happy with each other."

Bella narrowed her eyes in confusion. "And where was I during this?"

Rikki's face went blank. "This was the day before the whole thing on Mako Island."

Bella's face scrunched up. It wasn't exactly a cherished memory. "Yeah, I remember that."

"Anyway," Rikki shook her head as if to snap herself out of a trance. "To the Marine Park?"

"Now?"

"I don't see why not." Rikki shrugged.

Bella nodded. "Okay. Sure."

* * *

"Cleo!" Rikki hollered.

Cleo turned around, very surprised. "Rikki? Bella?" She narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here? Is there something wrong?"

Rikki folded her arms and blew at her fringe indignantly. "Oh, so now I'm not allowed to visit my best friend at work?"

"No," Cleo shrugged, "It's just strange, that's all."

Rikki looked at her sternly. "I used to visit you all the time."

"Yeah, used to." Cleo shrugged again. "But you were usually dragged along by Emma."

"That's unfair."

"How so?"

"It just is."

"That's not very specific," Cleo shook her head, sending her wavy tied up hair bouncing around her shoulders. "But really, why are you here?"

Rikki put her hands up in surrender. "We're just here to visit you, honest."

"Okay." Cleo said with a decisive nod of her head. "Can you pass me that bucket over there?" Cleo pointed at a bucket right beside Rikki, filled to the brim with squid.

"Er, okay." Rikki shrugged and picked up the bucket, holding it at arms length as she delivered it to Cleo.

"Thank you." Cleo smiled and took the bucket out of Rikki's hands. She turned to the dolphin pen and reached into the bucket with a pair of tongs.

"Why is it squid and not some kind of fish?" Bella asked curiously.

"Squid is Ronnie's favourite." Cleo answered, not even bothering to turn.

"Right." Bella muttered.

Rikki laughed. "Don't worry about it, Bella. Cleo and the dolphins here are like soulmates," She paused and thought for a second. "Especially Ronnie."

Bella nodded with a smile.

"Darn it!" Cleo slammed the bucket of squid down in frustration. "Rikki, pass me that towel – quick!"

"Sure," Rikki said as she leant over and picked it up off the ground. "Why?" She smirked.

"Just pass it!"

"Alright." Rikki rather reluctantly handed Cleo the towel. Cleo hurriedly rubbed at the water on her hand, managing to dry it just before she sprouted a tail.

"There." Cleo breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She turned back to the dolphin pen. "You're going to get bored standing there, you know."

"You're right." Rikki said with a yawn. "I'm going to get ice cream." She strutted down the path and kicked at a stray pebble. She turned. "Bella, you coming?"

Bella shrugged and hurried to catch up with her.

"See you, Cleo!" Rikki's laugh echoed after she had disappeared.

"Yeah," Cleo muttered. "See you."

Rikki jubilantly walked down the path, the sun beating down on her and Bella's backs.

"I thought the point of this trip was to see Cleo?" Bella's voice came from behind her.

"Cleo is a big girl," Rikki shrugged. "I want ice cream."

"And that isn't immature at all." Bella said under her breath.

"If you want to share anything, Bella, I'm keen to listen." Rikki sang.

"Oh no, I was just talking to myself."

"Good." Rikki shielded her eyes from the sun. "And there's the ice cream stand."

Bella squinted in the harsh sunlight. Her eyes focused – and, indeed there was the ice cream not too far away.

"Let's go." Rikki said and started walking toward it. Bella followed her, less enthusiastic, but just enjoying a beautiful day in the sun.

Unfortunately, the two girls had to wait in line behind a family which included a screaming child, claiming he wanted the chocolate ice cream filled with nuts. Never mind that he was allergic.

"But I _want_ it!" The kid screamed.

And, unfortunately for the little boy, Rikki didn't have two crucial traits she needed at that moment. Liking kids and patience.

So she discreetly curled her fingers and...

"It's all melted!" The employee working the stand cried out in horror.

"Rikki!" Bella whispered and shoved Rikki firmly in the shoulder.

"What?" Rikki said with a slight shrug and tried to act innocent.

"Son, it looks like you'll just have to have a different ice cream." The father was saying and ruffled the boys brown curls.

"I want ice cream soup!"

"Look," The mother snapped, turning to her child and holding out an unimpressed finger. "You can get a different ice cream or no ice cream at all."

The boy shrunk back a little. "Strawberry, please."

And soon the family were on their way, the boy licking his ice cream happily and throwing a cautious glance to his mother every few seconds.

Rikki and Bella walked up to a rather miserable girl, wearing that ridiculous hat that Cleo had resented so much.

"Hello, what flavour would you like?" The girl said drearily.

"Double chocolate, thanks." Rikki said with a smile.

"Mint chocolate chip, please." Bella said from beside her.

The girl sighed. "Coming right up."

Rikki and Bella were soon walking away, licking their ice creams happily.

"You know, Cleo used to be like that." Rikki said as she cast a sideways glance to Bella.

"But I thought she was assistant dolphin trainer?" Bella asked, a little confused.

"This was _before _she got that job." Rikki explained.

"Oh." Bella nodded.

Rikki cast another glance to the girl who was now serving ice creams to a couple. "But she was a lot cheerier." She paused. "In fact, she pretty much loved it."

Bella laughed. She couldn't imagine Cleo being anywhere and _not _being cheery. Even at a job like that.

"Cleo!" Rikki called as soon as her dark-haired friend was in view.

"Not now, Rikki – I'm busy."

"Hey," Rikki dumped the remnants of her ice cream in a nearby bin and slung an arm around Cleo's shoulders, causing them both to nearly topple into the water. "Why don't we ditch this place and go somewhere fun?"

Cleo's nostrils flared in annoyance. "Whether or not you believe it, I actually _like_ this job."

"Ha!"

_Splash!__  
_  
Rikki was soon surfacing, wiping water out of her eyes as Ronnie clicked happily next to her.

"Shut up you oversized fish," Rikki snapped.

"Don't talk to him like that!" Cleo cried, and Rikki was soon being pushed back under the water by a colossal wave.

"Hey!" She sputtered, coughing up water.

"Don't make fun of my job and my lovely Ronnie." Cleo snapped, before reaching out a gloved hand and petting Ronnie on the nose while he clicked in agreement.

Bella came up behind her, swallowing a laugh. "But I thought you were the one who didn't like fooling around with water in public places?"

Cleo shrugged sheepishly. "I guess Rikki's just the annoying exception."

Rikki glared at her. "Just shut up and help me out."

Cleo bent over and held out her gloved hand. Rikki smiled, ducked under the water, and flicked water all over them with her tail.

Cleo let out a scream of frustration. They were thoroughly soaked. They were forced to dive into the water, slicing through the blue liquid in unison. Another giant wave pushed Rikki under.

"Rikki!" Cleo squealed in anger.

Rikki smirked.

Bella just looked at them hopelessly. "What did I do in the first place?"

"Wrong place wrong time." Rikki shrugged.

"Ronnie seems to like all the attention." Bella said with a light laugh, watching as he swam in circles around Cleo.

Cleo smiled and petted Ronnie. "But we need to get out of here."

"What's the rush?" Rikki asked, spinning around in the water.

Cleo shoved Rikki hard.

"Hey!"

"Wait," Bella said anxiously. "How do we get out?"

Cleo looked up at the platform. It was far too high for a mermaid to get out without a human at the top helping her.

"Shoot."

"Wait, maybe you could call Zane – darn it! Why don't mermaids have pockets?" Bella wailed.

Cleo laughed, but then frowned. "But seriously, how do we get out?"

"We could always try to –" Cleo swam up and fumbled to lift herself out of the water. "Ugh!" She cried as her hands slipped and she sunk back under the water. She sputtered as she surfaced, wiping the water out of her face.

"Let me try." Rikki said firmly. She swam back a little, staring down the platform.

"Wait, so you're going to take a running – swimming start?" Bella asked with raised eyebrows.

Rikki sighed and looked around her. "Oh brother, I feel like a dolphin."

"Hey!" Cleo cried in protest.

"Whoops." Rikki chuckled.

"Rikki, have you thought about this? If you take a_ swimming_ start you'll smack straight into the platform." Bella said apprehensively.

"Oh well," Rikki shrugged. "If I get smushed, you can always dump another curly-haired girl into the moon pool."

Bella started laughing, but Cleo scowled. "Rikki, that's not funny."

Rikki rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Cleo. Nothing'll happen."

Cleo hid a small smile. "No, I was more worried about the fact that she might be another Charlotte."

"Thanks a lot, Cleo."

"Whatever," Cleo shrugged. "Just get this over with."

Rikki rolled her eyes and started swimming toward the platform, gathering speed.

_Smack!_

"Oof!" Rikki swirled around before plunging down into depths of the water.

"Rikki!" Cleo cried and swam down after her. She spotted Rikki floating towards the bottom of the pool, her eyes fluttering open and closed. She quickly sped down to her and tucked her hands under Rikki's arms and heaved her to the surface.

"Rikki?" Bella swam over to them, where Cleo was wiping the wet hair out of Rikki's face. "Rikki, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said dazedly, pushing herself away from Cleo's grasp and shaking her head back and forth. "Just a little dizzy."

"Okay," Bella said with a laugh. "_That _was a bad idea."

"But how do we get _out?_" Cleo frowned, looking around her for any possible ways out.

"I guess we're stuck here for a while." Rikki laughed.

Cleo pouted.

"Bella?" A voice called out. Cleo and Rikki ducked under the water, not recognising the voice as quickly as Bella did.

But she recognised it immediately. She quickly ducked under the water and pulled Cleo and Rikki up.

"It's Will! I forgot I was supposed to meet him at three-thirty!" She looked at her hand, where there was no watch. "Darn it!" She cried out in frustration, while Cleo and Rikki laughed.

"You mean like for a date?" Rikki asked, smirking at her.

"Oh, leave her alone." Cleo said and shoved Rikki in the shoulder. She rolled her eyes before turning to Bella. "Anyway – he can help us!"

"Duh!" Rikki commented.

"Oh, shut it!" Cleo shot back.

Bella rolled her eyes at the two and swam up to the platform. "Will?" She called out cautiously.

"Bella?" He called. "Bella, where are you?"

"Down here!" Bella replied, swishing in the water to provide a source of noise for him to follow.

Will peered out over the water. "How did you three get in there?"

Cleo snorted. "Short version – it was Rikki's fault."

"Hey!" Rikki protested, smacking Cleo with her tail. "You pushed me in the water in the first place!"

"Whatever." Cleo rolled her eyes.

"You can tell me later – we need to get you guys out of there." He said, kneeling down.

"Well duh!"

"Rikki, can you just shut up for one second, please?" Cleo groaned.

Rikki just scowled.

Cleo rolled her eyes and swam up to the platform. Will held out his arm, which Cleo took gratefully.

He struggled to lift her up, ending up on taking her other hand as well so he could heave her up onto the wooden platform.

"Phew." Cleo wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. But then she groaned as she realised she was even worse off without Rikki there.

"Come on, Bella." Will huffed and held out his hands over the water. Bella chuckled as she swam over to him.

When Bella was out of the water, Rikki swam up to Will and flicked him with water. She poked her tongue out at him.

"I don't wanna come out," She said rather childishly.

"Rikki!" Cleo cried, her voice strained in exasperation. "Now's not the time!"

"I'm not coming out." Rikki shook her head firmly.

"Come on, Rikki!"

"No."

"Rikki!"

"I'm not coming out!"

Cleo sighed frustratedly and slammed her hands on the deck. "Come on, we need you to dry us!"

"What was that?" Rikki asked with a smirk.

Cleo sighed. "We need you!"

"Come again?"

"We need you, Rikki!" Cleo cried, her voice filled with frustration. She sighed when Rikki didn't answer. "Please?"

"That's just what I wanted to hear." Rikki smirked victoriously and held her arms out to Will.

Cleo let out a squeal of frustration and thumped her tail on the platform when she realised that had all been a ploy.

"Here you go." Rikki grinned and held her hand out. Steam began to rise from Cleo's tail. "Isn't it great you're so dependant on me?"

"If we hadn't just spent forever trying to get out of the water, you'd be so –"

_Splash!__  
_  
Rikki's eyes widened when she realised she was soaked. She dove into the water.

"Hey! Cleo!" Rikki cried when she surfaced, glaring at her friend.

"That wasn't me!" Cleo said in her defence.

Ronnie swam in circles around Rikki, clicking happily.

Cleo smiled. "Good boy."

Bella laughed, still a mermaid whilst Cleo was dry. "Who knew a dolphin could be smug?"

Cleo laughed and looked at Ronnie. "Who's a good dolphin?" She praised.

Rikki scowled and dove under the water, flicking water all over Cleo with her tail.

"Rikki!" Cleo shouted as she fell roughly onto the deck.

"You guys have to stop doing that." Will chuckled. Soon he was getting face fulls of water from both Rikki and Cleo.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Never mess with you guys." Will said, backing away from the thunderous Rikki.

"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" Rikki asked in an annoyed tone, holding her hands out to him, looking very unimpressed.

"Oh, right. Sorry." He muttered and heaved her out of the water.

"Gosh, why are mermaids so heavy?" Will groaned and he rubbed at his back.

Cleo's nostrils flared and she scowled. Will was pushed down roughly by a large stream of water.

Rikki laughed and leant over to him. "I don't think any girl takes being called _heavy_ well."

Will's eyes widened. "Oh, sorry!"

Cleo rolled her eyes and snorted. "Rikki, just dry me."

Rikki nodded and held out her hand. Soon all three girls were standing, and Cleo and Rikki were glaring at each other.

"Please, can we stop the glaring contest?" Bella asked, stepping between them.

"Fine – but I'm surprised nobody saw us." Cleo said, a hint of surprise on her facial features.

"Yeah, I guess we were lucky." Bella said with a smile.

"Anyways, you and Will best be going." Rikki grinned.

"Leave her be." Cleo said and dug Rikki in the stomach with her elbow.

Rikki sighed and blew at her fringe.

"Go have fun, Bella." Cleo smiled and waved as Will and Bella walked away.

"Bye guys!" Bella called as they disappeared around the corner.

"Anyways, just you and me, huh?" Rikki said and nudged Cleo in the shoulder.

"I guess," She said and looked at her watch. "Oh, my extra shifts up."

"Good." Rikki smiled and slung an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Now we can do something fun, right?"

Cleo laughed as Rikki fell face first into the water.

* * *

**I like how this chapter ended happily, unlike all the other sad chapters there's been recently.**


	23. Chapter 23: Flattery, Sun and Studying

Cleo laughed as Rikki whispered in her ear as they walked along the beach.

"Come on, let's go sit on those rocks over there." Cleo said and pointed out a patch of boulders not too far away.

"Sure, my feet are killing me."

"Your feet are killing you on _sand?_"

"Yup."

"You're ridiculous."

"Ridiculously awesome."

"Oh brother." Cleo groaned and seated herself on a rock while Rikki spread her towel out on the sand and lay down on it.

"I thought you would have realised by now that it's impossible for you to get a tan?" Cleo asked with raised eyebrows.

"No one says I can't try,"

"And get sunburnt in the process," Cleo added with a smile.

"Oh shut up." Rikki swatted at her lazily.

"But seriously, I bet you ten dollars you're gonna get sunburnt."

Rikki looked up at her sluggishly, but her eyes were filled with determination. "You're on."

Cleo laughed. "It's a bet."

Rikki got up slowly, ruffling her curly hair. She waded out into the water. "You wanna go for a swim?"

"Rikki, if you haven't noticed – this is a _public_ beach!" Cleo frowned.

"Come on!" Rikki called as she transformed, "Stop worrying!" She shouted, her tail flapping in the shallows. "Live a little!"

Cleo sighed and stood up, handling her precarious balance on the rock with ease. She put her hands on her hips. "Get out of there before someone sees you!"

Rikki grinned. "No way!"

"You do realise I can just send a wave to _make_ you come out, right?" Cleo asked daringly.

"I'd just flop back in!"

Cleo sighed and shook her head, causing her wavy brown hair to bounce lightly around her shoulders.

"So, you coming?"

Cleo looked at her friend with a smile. "Is there any answer I can give that will get you to come out and leave me alone?"

"Hmm, let me think about that..." Rikki paused for a moment, faking thoughtfulness. "No, I don't think so."

"Then I guess I'm beaten." Cleo said and jumped down from the rock.

Rikki grinned. "Well and truly."

Cleo just shook her head at her friend as the water reached her feet. She ran in, dropping the towel that was tied around her waist and diving in headfirst.

"Yes!" Rikki whooped happily and splashed her tail in victory before wiggling after her friend. She really should have put more thought into this...

Cleo and Rikki sped through the water, diving and swooping and racing each other to see who could get to the seabed first.

Rikki touched the sandy floor and shot Cleo a victorious smirk while the other mermaid pouted. Cleo gave Rikki a hard shove as she shot up to the surface, attempting to get a head start on her friend.

_Not gonna happen, _Rikki thought as she raced after her.

"Anyways," Rikki said as she dragged herself roughly onto the sand. "I totally won."

"Whatever, I don't really care." Cleo said lazily, drawing swirling patterns in the sand.

Rikki stared at her, mouth agape. "You don't?"

"Nope." Cleo said as she laid back and soaked up the sun.

"Er, okay..." Rikki said and raised her hand over her tail.

"Not so fast." Cleo's said and suddenly, a wave came out of nowhere and washed over Rikki.

Cleo pulled herself up and smiled at her. "That's for thinking you won."

Rikki just grumbled and cautiously held out her hand again. Nothing happened, so she curled her fingers.

"Do you want me to dry you?" She asked.

"No, I'm fine here." She answered sluggishly, and patted the sand around her contentedly.

"Alright..." Rikki said as she started walking away.

"Hey, stay with me," Cleo's voice called after her, a little hurt.

"I'm just getting my towel," Rikki called back.

Cleo smiled.

Rikki came and sat down with her towel just as the last drop of water on Cleo's skin dried.

Cleo opened her eyes and sat up. "You're so _slow._"

A scrunched up towel narrowly missed Cleo's head. "Missed." She remarked. Another one – her one – hit her straight on. She laughed. "You just saved me from getting it myself,"

Rikki huffed.

"Now go get your towel." Cleo laughed, "Go on."

Rikki grumbled and went and retrieved her towel off the sand. She launched it into the back of Cleo's head.

"You don't want to start that game," She warned.

"Oh really?"

"Yup." She said as a towel came hurtling towards Rikki.

"Okay, maybe we _should_ stop before we make deadly enemies of each other." Rikki said as she lined up a towel with Cleo's head.

"Don't think I believe you for a second." Cleo turned to her, grinning.

"Fine, fine." Rikki said as she dropped the towel at her feet. "I surrender."

Cleo eyed her suspiciously before shrugging and turning away from her.

Rikki smiled and picked up the towel again. But before she could throw it at Cleo, a definitely unnatural wave came crashing towards her.

"Hey!" She sputtered as she transformed.

Cleo stood over her, smiling victoriously. "I told you not to think I believed you."

Rikki scowled and grabbed Cleo's leg with a wet hand.

"Oh, come on." Cleo groaned as she flopped down beside Rikki.

Rikki smirked and Cleo hit her hard with her tail. "Just get us dry." She muttered bitterly.

Rikki laughed. "Sure."

Steam rose from her tail, and she hopped up and dried Cleo.

"Rikki," Cleo said, pointing to the patch of boulders she had been sitting on before their swim. "Your phone's ringing."

Rikki rolled her eyes and stalked over to the rocks. "It's probably Zane checking up on me."

She put the phone up to her ear with a rather annoyed expression. "Yes, hello Zane." She made a face and Cleo laughed.

"I'm fine."

"What if I didn't tell you?"

"I like annoying you."

"I didn't think it was that silly."

"No, of course."

Cleo laughed. The side of the conversation she could hear sounded rather funny.

"Oh, is little Zaney worried about me?"

"Oh brother, I sound like Miriam."

"You can handle the café by yourself."

"Oh come on, I can tell by the background noises it's not that busy."

"Yes, I do have a replacement for Sophie."

"Why do you want to know?"

"You'll just have to trust me."

"Yeah – deal with it."

"Whatever, Zane! Oh, what's that I hear? Is that a customer? Oh, I'm pretty sure it is. You better go. Bye. See you." She hung up the phone quickly. Cleo started laughing.

When she opened her eyes, Rikki had her hands on her hips, and was glaring at her. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Rikki. Don't worry." She said, hiding a smile.

"Good." Rikki said as she lay down on her outstretched towel.

Cleo rolled her eyes and walked up to her, her own towel in hand. She spread it on the sand and lay down. She reached for her book, which was lying on top of the rocks. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and started reading.

"I'm bored." Rikki said, turning to her. "What do you want to do now?"

Cleo laughed and turned the page of her paperback. "I told you to bring a book..."

"Books are boring!"

"Here we go again..." Cleo said, before her phone buzzed next to her. "Hold that thought." She said as she turned it over and examined the screen.

**Slept really well last night. At **_**home!**_**  
****~ Emma****  
**  
Cleo grinned.

"What's got you so happy?" Rikki asked, peering over her shoulder to read the text. "Ooh! Ooh! Let me reply!" She said and snatched the phone out of Cleo's hands.

"No! Rikki, give me my phone back!" Cleo cried.

"No, I want to reply!"

"It's _my_ phone!"

They grappled for it for a solid two minutes, before Cleo finally won out.

"Nope." Cleo said, holding the phone out of Rikki's reach as the blonde mermaid made a grab for it.

**That's so great, Em. Keep us posted. Rikki sends her love.****  
****~ Cleo**

"I do most certainly not send my love!" Rikki shrieked, exasperated.

"That's better than saying you send your hate, isn't it?" Cleo retorted.

Rikki thought about this for a moment. "I guess." She said sulkily. "Although that is a good expression. I really should use that on Zane sometime..."

Cleo rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Anyway, back to my boredom..."

"Here," Cleo shoved her book to Rikki's chest. "Read my book."

"I told you, books are boring." Rikki replied, dropping the book to her side.

"Well don't say you're bored and then say no to the solutions I give," Cleo snapped.

"Alright, alright." Rikki said, holding her arms up in surrender.

"And don't – oh, wait a second." Cleo sighed and picked up her phone as it buzzed.

**Do you want to meet up at the café?****  
****~ Bella****  
**  
"Bella wants to see us." Cleo said, looking at Rikki.

"But aren't we hanging out here?" Rikki asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, you're on the verge of driving me crazy, so..." Cleo trailed off and typed in a quick reply.

**Depends. If I can convince Rikki.****  
****~ Cleo****  
**  
Her phone was soon buzzing with Bella's response.

**Zane's there. I would've thought that's all the convincing she needs.****  
****~ Bella****  
**  
At this, Rikki snatched the phone off Cleo.

**I resent that!****  
****~ Cleo****  
**  
**Hi Rikki. Give Cleo back her phone.****  
****~ Bella****  
**  
Rikki sulkily handed Cleo her phone back.

**That's the second time she's done that.****  
****~ Cleo****  
**  
**I'm not surprised.****  
****~ Bella****  
**  
"Hey!" Rikki protested.

**Rikki isn't very happy with that comment.****  
****~ Cleo**

**I'd imagine not.****  
****~ Bella****  
**  
Rikki scowled and grabbed Cleo's phone again.

**Will you two stop talking about me?****  
****~ Cleo**

**Leave Cleo's phone alone, Rikki. But fine. Cleo, isn't the weather nice?****  
****~ Bell****a**

**Don't even try that, Bella!**

**~ Cleo**

**Try what, Rikki? I was just doing what you asked of me...****  
****~ Bella**

**Don't give me that!****  
****~ Cleo****  
**  
**Fine, fine. But only if you give Cleo her phone back.****  
****~ Bella**

Rikki scowled and shoved the phone back into Cleo's hands.

**I'm back again.****  
****~ Cleo****  
**  
**Good. So, we up for the café or not?****  
****~ Bella**

**I don't think so. Sorry, but maybe later?****  
****~ Cleo****  
**  
**Sure, don't worry about it. See you later.****  
****~ Bella****  
**  
**Bye.****  
****~ Cleo****  
**  
Cleo put her phone down next to her and lay down on her towel.

"Cleo, I'm still bo –"

_Splash!_

"_Cleo!"_

* * *

"Rikki, I'm thirsty." Cleo complained, "Can we go to the café now?"

Rikki nodded. "Yeah." She said and stood up, "I guess we've spent enough time at the beach."

Cleo smiled and hopped up, slinging her towel over her shoulder. "Great."

"I'll go get our day clothes." Rikki nodded to her friend and ran up the beach, coming back with two pairs of clothes.

"I was half expecting you to forget where we put them." Cleo laughed.

"Oh shut up." Rikki said and gave Cleo a playful shove.

"Come on. Let's go get dressed."

* * *

"So, you're just paranoid?" Rikki said with sarcastic sweetness as she walked into the café, accompanied by Cleo.

"Rikki!" Cleo groaned, slapping her hand to her forehead. "You know I'm serious about my grades. Unlike _you._"

"Hey," Rikki shrugged in return. "I just think there are better things to do."

"Besides working hard which equals getting into a good university which equals getting a good job with good pay?" Cleo retorted.

Rikki shrugged again.

"Rikki, I swear you – oh, hey Bella!" Cleo's tone changed drastically in a matter of seconds and she waved to Bella, who was sitting in a booth.

Bella waved back. Cleo and Rikki walked over to her and sat down.

"You still here?" Cleo asked with raised eyebrows. "It was like," She glanced at her watch. "Two hours ago when you called us."

Bella shook her head. "No, I left, but then I came back. I'm supposed to be meeting Will."

Rikki smirked and Cleo quickly elbowed her before she could say anything.

"So..." Rikki started. "You girls want a drink?"

"No thanks." Bella muttered.

Cleo, on the other hand, nodded. "Thanks. I'll take a banana beat box."

"Coming right up." Rikki said and then turned a fraction. "Zane! Can you get me two Banana Beat Boxes?" She yelled across the café.

Cleo chuckled at her friend.

"Oh, there's Will!" Bella exclaimed and scrambled out of the booth.

Cleo laughed and shook her head, taking her phone out of her pocket. She put it up to her ear, slid out of the booth, and walked outside.

"Hello?"

"Hey Em. How are you doing?" Cleo asked.

"I'm fine – oh darn..." Emma groaned.

"Emma? Em? What's wrong?"

"Oof!"

Cleo laughed. "Had a little accident, did we?"

"Er, yeah..."

"Anyway, how are you? Any new _family _difficulties?" Cleo asked.

Emma picked up on what she meant straight away. "Nope," She replied happily. "Everything's great."

Cleo breathed a sigh of relief. "Em, I'm so happy to hear that."

"Thanks, Cleo. Hey, do you and Rikki want to meet up later?" She asked hopefully.

"What about Bella?"

"She has a date with Will."

"Right..." Cleo nodded. "Okay, sure. I'd love to."

"I'll call Rikki." Emma said happily.

"No wait, she's with me, I'm sure I could ask her..." Cleo said, walking back into the café and looking around for Rikki. "There she is."

"Okay, you go ask her. I'll wait."

"Alright, I'll be back in a second." Cleo said and walked over to Rikki.

"Your juice is over there," Rikki said, pointing to the table they had been sitting at previously.

"Thanks. But I didn't come here for that," Cleo said with a smile. "Emma was wondering if you'd like to go out later."

Rikki smiled. "Sure, why not?"

"Cool, I'll just tell Em." Cleo said and started walking out of the café again, putting the phone up to her ear.

"She's in."

"Great!" Emma replied enthusiastically, "So, the café, your place, my place, the moon pool, or the open seas?"

"I don't know." Cleo said with a shrug. "What did you have in mind?"

"The moon pool!"

"Alright. Meet you there..." She glanced at her watch. "When, exactly?"

"Err, just anytime. How about..." She paused, seeming to think about it for a moment. "One-thirty... ish?"

Cleo laughed. "Sounds great."

"Alright, see you then, Cleo."

"See you."

* * *

"I'm so _bored!_" Rikki complained loudly, "Cleo, how do you stand it?"

They were at the Sertori residence, at the table doing schoolwork. Or at least Cleo was.

"Rikki, if you ever want to graduate, you have to learn to work!" Cleo snapped back. She was getting rather tired of Rikki's constant whining. She had convinced Rikki to come to her place and work – convinced translating into bugging her until she went with her – and now she was coming to regret it.

"I'd rather not graduate!" Rikki wailed melodramatically. Cleo rolled her eyes.

"You're such a baby!" Cleo said frustratedly, pointing at her with a somewhat chewed pencil.

"I resent that!" Rikki huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, her bottom jutting out.

"That just proves my point!"

"Does not!"

"I am _not _going to participate in such a childish argument as the one you're offering, do you –" Cleo started.

_Thump! _Rikki's school books were suddenly strewn across the room.

"Rikki!" Cleo cried, getting up from her cross legged place on the carpet. "Don't do that! Not only will we get in trouble with my dad, but you'll wreck the books!"

_Thump!_ Another book went flying.

Cleo turned to her angrily. "Do you _want_ to ruin the books?"

"Well done, Cleo. You figured it out. Gold star."

"Don't go all sarcastic on me!" Cleo snapped, picking up the books off the floor. She dumped the on the table with a loud_ thunk,_ and sat down again, glaring crossly at Rikki from across the table.

"What did I do?" She asked innocently.

Cleo scowled bitterly and got back to her work.

The sound of a key turning in a lock made her look up, and Emma breezed through the door seconds later.

"Emma? What are you doing here?" Cleo asked, and then eyed the key in her hands. "Why did you use your key? You could have knocked."

Emma smiled. "Yeah, the funny thing about that... is that you have to _answer_ when I _do._"

Cleo looked down while Emma laughed. "Sorry." She muttered.

"It's alright," Emma said, shaking her head.

Rikki exhaled noisily and pushed her books away from her, putting her feet up on the table.

Emma walked over to her and gracefully pushed them off. She eyed the books on the table. "Ooh, calculus, can I do some?"

Rikki looked up at her with mild amusement and sluggishly handed her one of the heavy books. "Knock yourself out."

"Rikki!" Cleo squealed in frustration. Rikki looked at her. "You're supposed to do the work yourself!"

"Oh no," Emma said, shaking her head and sitting down on one of the sofas, beginning to leaf through the large book. "I don't mind."

Cleo chuckled at her friend. _If Emma hadn't missed school so much, she'd probably be in league with me, _she thought. "Aren't you supposed to be getting back to your online studies?"

Emma nodded distractedly. "Mhhm, mum says I can start again next week."

Rikki grinned. "But until then, I guess she's just stuck doing my homework..." Rikki's grin grew wider. "Poor Emma."

Cleo rolled her eyes.

* * *

After another half an hour of Cleo doing her work and Rikki getting Emma to do hers for her, Cleo was rubbing her eyes.

Emma looked up. "You tired?"

Cleo shook her head and stretched. "No, my eyes just don't like reading this bright white paper for this long."

Emma mumbled in agreement. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Any brighter and we'd need sunglasses!"

Cleo laughed and snorted at Rikki who was listening to music out of her iPhone, bobbing her head to the – of what Cleo could hear – and she could hear a lot of it – hardcore rock music.

Cleo stretched again, her muscles protesting after being in a hunched over position for so long. "Anyways, why are you here, Em?"

Emma looked at her, amused.

"What? Am I missing something?" Cleo asked with raised eyebrows.

"Cleo... it's two-thirty."

Cleo's eyes widened. "Oh! That means... oh no, you came over when we were late!"

"Half an hour late." Emma pointed out.

"And we would've been a lot longer too..." Cleo groaned. "I'm sorry, Emma."

Emma laughed, surprising Cleo. "It's alright, Cleo. I had quite a lot of fun here."

Cleo raised her eyebrows. "You had fun doing Rikki's calculus homework?"

Emma snorted. "Believe it or not, yeah."

"And I had fun too!" Rikki piped up, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah, because you didn't do anything!" Cleo cried.

"Hey, I was just sitting back and watching the masters at work." Rikki said with a smile.

Cleo rolled her eyes and snorted. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Rikki."

Rikki sighed dramatically and wiped her hair out of her eyes. "Can't blame a girl for trying."


	24. Chapter 24: Operation, Clean Up

"Oof!" Cleo cried as she fell down onto a pile of blankets, her long golden tail forming behind her. She looked at it miserably.

Her room was a mess. She had a reputation of being the tidiest in the family (oh, if they only knew the real story...) and she had intended to keep that up.

But now she had to dry out! Her phone started ringing and she reached for it across the fuzzy blankets. "Hello?" She answered.

"You transformed, didn't you?" Emma's amused voice came through the speaker.

"What? No! That's absurd!"

"Cleo, Cleo, Cleo..."

"Hey! It was just a little water!" She exclaimed.

"So you're admitting to it?"

"I never said that..."

Emma laughed. "Hey, don't worry about it. I was just calling to see if, I dunno, you'd like to go out somewhere later?"

Cleo nodded distractedly and pushed the blankets out from underneath her. "Mhhm. Sounds good."

"You're not really listening, are you? What's got you so tied up?" Emma asked curiously.

"I'm cleaning my room."

"Ah," Emma said understandingly. "Trying to prevent Kim from finding out your dirty little secret?"

Cleo snorted. "Dirty little secret meaning that I stuff everything into a vacant closet?"

"Pretty much."

Cleo laughed. "Going out somewhere sounds great. But... just, after I'm finished, okay?"

"Sure," Emma said. "In fact, d'you want me to come over and help?"

"Oh no," Cleo said quickly. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"No worries," Emma replied with a laugh. "I'd like to. I'm pretty bored hanging around here, anyway."

"What about your morning run?" Cleo asked.

"Done." Emma replied.

"Morning swim?"

"Done."

"Whoaaa." Cleo breathed. "I get where you're coming from."

Emma laughed. "Yeah. So, I'll be over in a bit?"

"That'd be great." Cleo said happily, then blew at her fringe in frustration. "Lets just hope I've dried off by the time you get here."

Emma laughed. "Lets hope. Okay, I'll see you soon."

"See you." Cleo said and hung up. She manoeuvred herself so she was facing the bed, and reached under it for the towel she always kept under it. She rubbed at her tail with a sigh. She quickly changed back into human form and hopped up, sorting out the messy clothes on her bed.

"This is going to take forever..." She complained aloud, running her hands through her thick, dark hair. She looked around her room and groaned. It really was in shambles. _Okay,_ she decided._ I'm going to take a break._

She walked out the door and down the stairs, walking into the kitchen to see Kim digging into a stack of pancakes saturated in maple syrup. She stifled a laugh, trying to look innocent when Kim shot a glare her way.

"Dad?" She called out curiously. "Are you here?"

"I'm here, honey," He replied tiredly, his voice so muffled she couldn't tell where he was in the house. "I'm just wrestling with these pipes."

Cleo walked further into the kitchen and turned the corner, seeing her dad bent down, under the bench, the pipes exposed as he tried to fix them.

"Dad?"

"Ouch!" He banged his head on the bench, and then pulled it out of the cupboard, smiling at Cleo tiredly. "Morning."

Cleo smiled distractedly. "Morning dad." She paused, looking at him intently. "The pipes are broken?"

He sighed. "Yeah."

"Again?"

He nodded. "It seems so."

Cleo ruffled her hair and let out a little sigh, making sure it was quiet enough so her father couldn't hear it. _He doesn't need another problem. _She thought unhappily._  
_  
"Dad, Emma's coming over in a few minutes. Is that okay?" She asked hopefully.

He smiled. "That's fine, Cleo. You have fun."

Cleo beamed. "Thanks, dad." She leant over and kissed him on the cheek. "Love you." She said and raced excitedly up the stairs.

Cleo flopped on her bed, but soon wished she hadn't.

"Ow!" She complained as she stood back up, rubbing her sore back. Right. That was where she put all of her stuff.

"Well," She muttered to herself. "I should at least try to get this place a little better by the time Em gets here."

She picked up the blankets – that by then she had sorted into a pile – and wondered what to do with them. She shrugged and walked into the hallway, shoving them into the linen closet. She walked back into her bedroom, and picked up a snow globe that had rolled off her bed and dropped to the ground.

The sight of it brought tears to her eyes. She had gotten this on a family vacation. She remembered she was so excited when she saw this in the stores, and she had begged her parents to let her have it. She was little then, and had thought it was magical. Cleo sniffed. Then, her parents had been happy. _But not anymore.__  
_  
Tears dribbled down her cheeks and she felt an anger building up inside her. She clutched the globe firmly in her hands and wiped at her eyes. She threw the trinket out of the window with an angry scream.

"Whoa!" Could be heard outside, as the snow globe flew through the air and shattered on the ground.

Cleo ran and peered out the window. She stuck a hand out and waved. "Emma! Up here!"

Emma caught sight of her. "Hi Cleo!"

"You gonna come in?" Cleo called, withdrawing her hand.

"Dunno. Outside sounds pretty good right now." She smiled and turned her head to the sky, taking in the sunlight and the singing birds.

"D'you want me to come out?" Cleo asked, grinning at her friend.

"No," Emma turned her head away from the sky and shook her head. "I'll come in."

"Okay. Just come right up." Cleo waved to her one last time before pulling her head back in.

She heard Emma knocking at the door, saying hi to her dad, running up the stairs, and then:

"Boo!" Cleo turned around to see a smiling Emma standing in the doorway.

"It's great to see you Em." Cleo said and enveloped Emma in a tight hug.

"It's good to see you too." Emma said as they broke apart, smiling brightly. She looked around. "Wow, your room really is a mess."

Cleo snorted. "Yup."

Emma looked around again. She grinned. "We should totally con Rikki into doing this with us."

Cleo rolled her eyes. "She'd probably end up conning us back."

Emma pouted. "Fair point."

"So," Cleo looked around at her messy room. "Shall we get to it?"

Emma smiled. "We can sure try."

Cleo ran her fingers through her dark hair. "Warning, this will take forever."

This comment got her a slap on the shoulder.

"Hey!" She cried. "What was that for?"

Emma put her hands on her hips and looked at her intently. "And I thought you were supposed to be the optimist?"

Cleo started laughing, and after a moment of looking and her sternly, Emma joined in.

"Okay," Cleo said as the laughing died down. "Seriously, shall we?"

Emma nodded, stifling another laugh. "We shall."

_Twenty minutes later...__  
_  
"Cleo, why do you have so many books?" Emma whined, picking up yet another stack of books.

Cleo turned to her, an amused expression on her face. "Don't pretend like you're not worse!"

Emma groaned as she heaved the books onto Cleo's desk. Or at least, tried to. "Not since I haven't been going to school!"

"Okay, maybe," Cleo replied, taking the heavy stack of books off Emma and placing them on the desk for her before she could make any more of a big deal out of it. "But in the personal book department we're at _least _equal."

Emma puffed and wiped the sweat off her brow. "Yeah, maybe." She croaked out.

"Come on," Cleo rolled her eyes. "They're not that heavy!"

"Cleo!" Emma glared at her, but frankly couldn't conjure up the brainpower to do more than look at her. "They're like twelve high stacks!"

"Whatever," Cleo said, handing another set of heavy books. "Just deal with the books."

Emma nodded begrudgingly. "Yeah, alright."

"Hold on a sec," Cleo said and held up one finger to Emma, while her friend's arms struggled to hold the now thirteen books in her arms. "My phone's ringing." She bent over and picked up her phone, a smile spreading across her face. "It's Rikki."

"Hello?" Cleo answered.

"Can I come over?" Rikki asked.

"Sure. Why?"

But Rikki had already hung up.

Cleo rolled her eyes and threw her phone down on the bed.

"What did she want?" Emma asked curiously.

"She'll be over in a few minutes." Cleo answered.

"Cool!" Emma said with bright eyes, "That means we won't have to con her after all!"

Cleo shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Oh, Emma..."

_A few minutes later...__  
_  
"Hello?" Rikki called out and peered into the house on her tiptoes. "Hello? Cleo?"

"She's upstairs!" A snarky voice – which could only be identified as Kim – called from inside the house.

Rikki shrugged and turned the knob, opening the door and running up the stairs.

"Cleo?" Rikki called, knocking on her slightly open door. "You in there, Cleo?"

"Just come in!"

Rikki pushed the door open to see Emma standing there – carrying a heavy looking stack of books – and Cleo crouching down and picking something up off the floor.

"Oh, hey Em." Rikki said and waved.

"Hi. Could you help me with this?" She asked.

"Er, sure..." Rikki shrugged and picked a few books off the top of the ones Emma was carrying.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

But Rikki was having a little trouble. "Man, these are heavy! What are they, stone?"

Cleo rolled her eyes. "You're both such drama queens." She eyed Rikki. "But Emma's been here a lot longer than you, and you complained the second you got here."

"Whatever." Rikki grumbled and slammed the books on the desk. "There. Done."

"Oh no," Cleo waved her finger in the air before pointing it at Rikki. "You have a lot more to do."

"You have to be kidding me!" Rikki whined.

"Oh stop being such a baby," Cleo chastised.

"But I didn't come here to work!" Rikki pouted.

Emma put her hands on her hips and looked at her. "Then what did you come for?"

Rikki stared at her sneakers. "I came here to spend time with you guys." She said quietly.

"What was that?" Cleo asked, a confused look on her face.

"I came here to spend time with you guys!" Rikki repeated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You can do that and help me clean up my room at the same time." Cleo said happily, handing her a pile of clothes.

Rikki sighed. "Alright, I guess."

Cleo clapped her hands childishly, a happy smile on her face. "Yay!"

"But I'm guessing I still have to handle the books?" Emma asked with a groan.

Cleo turned to her. "Yes, you do."

"Brilliant." She replied sarcastically.

"Oh come on." Cleo said sternly. "If we do this quickly, we can go for a swim later."

Rikki let out a whoop of joy and Emma hurriedly began putting the books away. Cleo laughed.

* * *

"Oof!" Rikki groaned as she threw a box of Cleo's stuff onto the floor.

"Hey! Be careful with that!" Cleo snapped.

Rikki shrugged and shoved her hands in her pocket. "So we can going swimming now, right?"

Emma squealed in excitement and turned to Cleo. "Please, Cleo?"

Cleo looked from Emma to Rikki and sighed. "But we're not finished." She said plainly.

"Oh come on!" Rikki exclaimed, frowning. "We've been here for_ ages._"

Cleo's face scrunched up.

Emma pouted. "_Please_ Cleo?"

Cleo sighed again. "Fine," She put her finger up with a smile. "But after that, we come back to this."

Rikki grinned and elbowed her. "If you _want _to come back."

Cleo rolled her eyes. "I have a feeling I will."

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember agreeing to do another person's chores." Rikki threw back.

"Yes," Cleo said, putting an arm around Rikki's shoulders. "But friends help each other out. And that's what you're doing."

Rikki blew at her fringe. "Fine." She said moodily. "I'll come back and help afterwards."

Cleo smiled brightly. "Good. Now lets go swimming!"

"_Finally!_"

"Rikki – just come on." Cleo tugged at her arm and led her out the open door and down the stairs, Emma following close behind them.

"Dad, we're going out, okay?" Cleo called, and breezed out the door before she could hear his answer.

"So... beach or dock?" Rikki asked casually.

Cleo shrugged. "Whichever,"

"Beach." Emma piped up. "Definitely beach. The only time it shouldn't be the beach is when we accidentally get wet." She shrugged. "Beaches have much less chance of being seen. That is, if you choose the place right."

Rikki nodded and made a sound of agreement. "You're right."

Emma started laughing, causing Cleo and Rikki to look at her strangely.

"Imagine Rikki Chadwick ever agreeing with _me?_" She sputtered.

Rikki rolled her eyes. "Really, you're so immature."

This just made her laugh harder.

"Stop laughing!" Rikki yelled in frustration.

"Make me." Emma said daringly.

"If you don't shut it, I will." Rikki scowled.

Emma scoffed. "Whatever."

"Hey!"

* * *

Back from their swim, Cleo, Rikki and Emma walked into Cleo's room. Cleo flopped down on the bed.

"Good swim." She said contentedly.

Rikki nodded. "Yeah." She turned to Cleo. "Do we really have to still clean up your room?"

Cleo swatted at her. "Nah. I'll just do it tonight."

Rikki phone beeped. She picked it up and looked at it. "It's Zane." She said, making a face. "I'm needed at the café." She gave them both apologetic smiles as she walked out.

Cleo propped herself up on her elbows. "I guess it's just you and me now, huh Em?"

Emma sighed. "Actually, I'd better be going too. My mum freaks if I'm gone for too long."

Cleo's expression turned sad. "Bye then."

Emma waved and walked out the door.

"Guess it's just me." Cleo said as she stood up. She heard Emma's footsteps going down the stairs.

"Wait, Emma!" She called. The footsteps ceased and came back up.

Emma's blonde head poked round the door. "Yes?"

"D'you mind staying for a little longer?" She shifted her feet in the carpet. "Can't you text your mum or something?"

Emma thought about this for a moment. "Yeah, I could if you want."

Cleo smiled. "Thanks," She said. "I just don't know what I'd do all day."

"Don't worry about it," Emma said, coming into the room. "I didn't really want to go back anyway."

"Okay." Cleo nodded. She flopped down on the bed and propped herself up on her elbows. "Hey, you wanna go for another swim?"

Emma started laughing.

Cleo narrowed her eyes. "What's so funny?"

"Oh no, it's nothing." Emma said, shaking her head and stifling one last laugh.

Cleo shook her head and swatted at her. "Whatever."

"Hey," Emma said, bouncing down next to her on the bed. "A swim sounds good. Too bad Rikki didn't stick around, she'll feel a little betrayed."

Cleo laughed. "Probably. But Rikki had other stuff to do, so..."

Emma tilted her head in confusion. "What's wrong, Cleo?"

Cleo yawned. "I'm just... a little... tired..."

Emma smiled and ran her hands through Cleo's long dark hair.

"Relax, Cleo. You've been stressing a lot lately." She said softly.

"No... I'm... just... a little... tired..."

Emma laughed as Cleo fell back, fast asleep.


	25. Chapter 25: Emma's First Day

"Ha!" Cleo guffawed with bright eyes as she pointed an accusing finger at Rikki.

"What?" Rikki turned to her, completely oblivious to what she could have done to make her friend act like this.

"Told you. Totally sunburnt." Cleo smiled victoriously.

"I am not!" Rikki cried in her defence.

Cleo smirked and pulled up the sleeve of Rikki's top, revealing a red, angry sunburn. Rikki winced when Cleo let go of the material, causing it to flick right onto her irritated flesh.

Cleo looked at Rikki in triumph. "Sunburnt."

Rikki scowled and turned her back to Cleo. "Still don't believe you."

Cleo raised her eyebrows. "You want me to test it some more?"

"No!" Rikki cried out unintentionally, earning her a sardonic raise of the eyebrows from Cleo.

"I believe you owe me ten dollars."

Rikki huffed and reached in her pocket for her wallet. "I can't believe I ever agreed to this."

"Well too bad, you did."

Rikki scowled and slapped the money into Cleo's hands.

Cleo grinned and pocketed the bills. "Thanks."

Rikki looked at her with a sarcastic smile. "No problem."

As Rikki reached out to pick up something on the table, she winced. Cleo's face crumpled.

"You know, I have some aloe vera in the cupboard if you want it?" She asked. "I'm not sure if it'll turn you into a mermaid, but it'll help with the..."

"I'm fine." Rikki hastily cut Cleo off. "I mean, it's just a little sunburn."

Cleo watched as Rikki tried again to pick up the piece of paper off the table.

"I'll go get it." She said quickly and hopped up before Rikki had the chance to protest again.

Rikki heard her rummaging through the cupboards before she called out:

"What did Lewis say all those years ago? _32 _percent water content?"

"I don't know," Rikki called back. "I wasn't listening. I was more interested in Emma's sleepover and trying to find out when he was going to spray me with another mystery liquid."

"Ah yes," Cleo said, walking back into the room with a green bottle. "I remember that." She sat down next to Rikki with a thump.

She examined the bottle thoroughly before letting out a regretful sigh. She turned to Rikki with a half-smile. "34 percent water content."

Rikki slapped her hand to her forehead and groaned. "Aw, man!"

Cleo glanced at the bottle. "I'll just go lock the door..."

"No one's here, right?" Rikki asked as she heard the click of the front door locking.

"Nope." Cleo said as she walked and sat down again.

"And Cleo?"

"Yeah?" Cleo looked at her with curious eyes.

Rikki smiled. "It was only two years ago."

Cleo blew at her fringe. "Feels longer."

Rikki grinned. "That's what I said on our one year anniversary, remember?"

Cleo smiled thoughtfully. "Yeah, I remember."

She shook her head, snapping herself out of her nostalgia. "Anyway, prepare to go mermaid..."

Cleo squirted the green goo onto her hands and rubbed it onto Rikki's arms.

"Wow," Rikki sighed with relief. "That stuff really works."

"Yeah." Cleo smiled at her sympathetically. "But then it'll sting."

"Ouch!" Rikki cried as they both transformed into mermaids, their tails dangling off the end of the couch.

"Told you."

* * *

A knock echoed through the mostly-empty house.

Emma bounced up to get it, her expression changing from happy to confused within a few seconds.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes.

"What? I'm not allowed to visit you?"

"It's very odd, that's all." She said with a shrug. "I mean, what's with all these strange visits?" She asked, throwing her hands out.

"I've only visited you twice." Ash pointed out.

"Whatever, it's still weird." She huffed.

"I could stop visiting if you like." He said with a smile.

Emma narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a moment. "Fine. You do that." She said and stalked off, flopping down on the couch and going back to reading her book.

Ash walked in with a chuckle, shaking his head.

Emma peered up at him. "I thought I told you to leave?"

He sat down softly next to her. "Must not have heard."

She let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine. Stay. Just stop being so _annoying._"

"Annoying how?"

She muttered under her breath. "Never mind."

He looked at her for a moment. "Do you mind if I get a drink of water?" He asked, getting up.

"Fine, just don't –"

"Just don't get any on you," He said, like he had heard it a thousand times. He smiled at her. "Got it."

While he was in the kitchen, Emma watched him. She sighed.

"Fine." She huffed. "It's okay for you to come over." She paused. "_Sometimes._"

He laughed and walked back over to her, sitting down. She flinched.

"Don't worry, I won't get any on you." He said.

"It's okay," She replied. "I trust you."

He smiled at her.

She smiled back.

* * *

Rikki heaved her heavy bag onto the desk with a groan.

"I really do hate school." She complained.

Zane came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I know you do."

Zane peered at her for a moment. "Wait, are you sunburnt?"

Rikki rolled her eyes. "Brilliant detective skills, Zane."

"What happened?" He asked, ignoring her sarcastic remark.

"I went to the beach."

"Ah."

Rikki turned to him, staring him down. "What do you mean, _ah? _I'm pale, Zane! I burn easily!" And with that she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Zane stared after her for a moment. He didn't know what had just happened. He broke into a sprint, flinging the door open and running up to Rikki.

"Rikki, Rikki," He called, in an attempt to get her to slow down. "What's up?"

She turned to him, her face miserable. "Sorry." She whispered.

"Come here." He held his arms out to her and she fell into them.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," She said when they broke apart. "It's just, Cleo and I were talking about me being sunburnt, and then Lewis was brought into the picture, and I just feel so bad..."

"Hey," He pulled her in close, petting her blonde curls. "It's okay." He pulled back and looked at her. "But maybe it is time you told the girls about what you saw at the mall."

Rikki swallowed. "But Cleo doesn't want me to."

Zane sighed. "She'd kill me if she knew I was saying this, but – don't listen to Cleo. She's scared. Do what _you _think is best for her."

Rikki stared at Zane for a moment, shocked, before she nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Good." He smiled weakly. "Now I think we have some juices to serve."

* * *

_Splash!_

Bella dove into the water, soaking Will from head to toe.

She surfaced with a mischievous grin.

"And that was for... what exactly?" He asked with a smile, wiping the water out of his eyes.

She swished her tail in the water. "Aren't you gonna come in?"

Will smiled and sat down, so his legs were swinging off the deck. "If Sophie sees you, you're dead."

Bella frowned. "I thought she was out job hunting?"

Will snorted. "More like skulking around the café spying on Rikki and Zane."

Bella's eyebrows creased. "But that means she's gone?"

Will shrugged. "She could come back at any second. It depends on her tolerance for Rikki and Zane's kissing."

Bella laughed. "Which I'm betting isn't very high."

"You gonna come up?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

She pouted. "Why don't you want to come in?"

He smiled. "Alright, I'm coming."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." She said and started drifting away from the deck.

"No no, I want to." He said, shaking his head. "I'll just go and..."

Bella beamed and dove under the water.

Will chuckled and walked into his boatshed. He walked into the corner, where his swimming gear lay.

"Will?"

Will's head shot up and he walked back outside. He was met by his redheaded sister, looking at him suspiciously.

"Back so soon?" He asked, eyebrows raised, "I thought you were job hunting?"

She peered at him. "Weren't many on offer, and the ones there weren't to my liking."

"Right."

"So," She started, trying to appear nonchalant. "Who were you talking to?"

Will covered up and quickly acted confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You were talking to someone in the water." She pressured.

"No I wasn't." He said dismissively.

"Something about wanting to do... I don't know, something." She shrugged.

Will rolled his eyes. "I still don't know what you're talking about."

"It wasn't Bella, was it? That's strange..." She narrowed her eyes. "Because she's supposed to be hydrophobic."

Will scowled. "Just because Bella and I are together now, doesn't mean you can go snooping around everything she and I do." He turned and stalked to the door. "And for your information, it wasn't even Bella." He glared at her for a second longer. "I wasn't talking to anybody." He slammed the door behind him, leaving a slightly surprised Sophie in his wake.

He locked the door before leaning against it. He had told Sophie about him and Bella a while ago, and she hadn't stopped bugging him about it. She was convinced she was bad for him, and she wouldn't let it go.

He sunk down to the floor. A knock came on the door.

"Will?" Sophie's voice came through the door.

"Go away, Sophie." He groaned.

"Will, let me in." She called. "I need my keys."

"Why? So you can let yourself in?" He called back with frustration.

"No. I'm going swimming. I need my spare clothes from the closet." She answered.

"Why would you need keys for that?" He asked, irritated.

"The _locked _closet."

Will got up with a grunt and slid Sophie's keys off the table. He got her clothes out of the closet and walked back to the door. He opened it a fraction and held out the clothes.

"Thank you." She said and he felt the neat pile of clothes being lifted out of his hands.

There was a pause. "Can I still come in?"

"No."

"Alright," She said, defeated. "I'll go."

He heard footsteps walking away and sighed in relief. She was gone.

* * *

Rikki's head whipped up at the sound of the beaded curtain rustling. Cleo parted the beads and walked in, standing by the entrance as if she wasn't sure what she should do.

"Cleo!" Rikki called across the café to the brunette.

Cleo waved to her. She walked up with a smile. "How's the sunburn doing?"

"I'm fine. You want a drink?" Rikki asked, taking the lid off the blender and looking at Cleo expectantly.

"No thanks." Cleo shook her head. "But do you want to go for a swim?"

Rikki looked hesitant. "I kind of have to work..."

Cleo nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later." She waved and walked back out of the café.

"Bye Cleo!" Rikki called as Cleo vanished.

"Was that Cleo?" Zane asked as he returned with a tray of empty glasses.

"Yeah," Rikki nodded. "She came to say hello."

He nodded. "I'm just going to go serve those waiting tables." He pointed over to three tables waiting to be served.

"Okay." She nodded and started filling in more orders.

* * *

"Shoot," Emma muttered as she looked at her watch. She stood up quickly and looked at Ash apologetically. "I have to go."

"Why?" He asked, confused.

She gathered her hair up and laid it over her shoulder. "I have to get to Rikki's. My first shift ever starts in ten minutes, and I don't want to be late." She reached down on the table and ran the brush through her hair and started explaining her situation to Ash.

"My mum didn't want me to rush things after my 'traumatic experience', but I insisted that it would be better for me to get back to normal life as soon as possible and she caved." She tied her hair up into a ponytail and tossed the brush down on the couch and walked over to her boyfriend.

"Bye," She said and quickly kissed him on the cheek. "Just let yourself out." She waved to him and walked over to the door, closing it on her way out.

She walked down the path quickly and professionally, her mind whirring. She really wanted to be good at this job. She knew she would be, she had been working at Juice Net for about two years until she left. And she knew Rikki wouldn't fire her. But she was just glad everything was getting back to normal.

With of course, the exception of Cleo.

Cleo. Emma was so worried about her. She had been concerned when Lewis had left her and went to America, but now... this just shot concerned out of the water. Before she knew it, she was outside the café, and almost smacked into the wall she was so caught up in her thoughts.

She smoothed out her already well-pressed clothes and walked inside with a determined look on her face.

"Emma!" Rikki exclaimed with a bright smile and ran over to her. "You're here!"

"Yeah," She smiled back and glanced at her watch again. "Sorry I'm late."

"Late?" Rikki looked confused. "You're not late."

Emma looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay. Whatever you say."

"Okay, we'll get you started over there –"

Emma rolled her eyes. "I _have_ worked here before, you know. A change of name doesn't alter the fundamentals."

Rikki nodded embarrassedly. "Right, right. Just go serve some customers and I'll talk to you later." She walked off, but turned before she disappeared around the corner. "Oh, and I'll tell you when your break is."

Emma nodded and took a tray from the counter. She walked over to one of the tables and picked up a menu. She scanned it. She knew most of the drinks there, but there were one or two that were new to her and she had to ask either Rikki or Zane about. She made a mental note to do that in her break. Whenever her break was.

She took a deep breath and walked over to a waiting table.

"May I take your order?"


	26. Chapter 26: A Betrayed Tail

The day went by so quickly that Emma didn't actually get a chance to speak with either Rikki or Zane. She had been so tired she had gone straight home and collapsed on her comfy bed, curling up in the warm covers. She soon fell asleep.

When Emma woke again, it was five 'o clock and her phone was ringing. She reached for it clumsily.

"Hello?"

"You alright? You sound like you just woke up." Ash's joking voice wafted through the speaker.

Emma turned herself over and rubbed her eyes. "So what?"

"Er, nothing? I was just calling to see how your first day went." He said.

Emma yawned. "It was fine. I have basically worked there before, so that made things a whole lot easier." She explained.

"Well I'm glad it went well. Rikki's probably happy too. But right now, I have to go." He replied.

"Alright," Emma said, stretching. "Bye."

"Bye." Ash said and hung up.

Emma threw off the blankets and slid out of the bed. She pulled the hair tie out of her hair and went out of her bedroom and into the bathroom, reaching for the brush and running it through her messy golden locks. She re-tied her hair up in her usual ponytail, and smoothed out her crinkly clothes. She tucked a strand of her fringe behind her ear and walked out of the room and downstairs, greeting her surprised mother who was standing by the stove.

"Emma!" She exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting you to be up until dinner time."

Emma looked at her confusedly. Her parents hadn't been there when she had got home; they had been out all day taking Elliot to some sort of racing car exhibition.

Her mother saw her perplexed expression and laughed. "I checked in on you at about four-thirty." She paused. "You were fast asleep."

Emma blushed. "Right." She muttered, and sat down on one of the sofas.

"Hey Emma." Elliot said and waved, only looking up from his book for a split second before going back to it.

"Hey Elliot." Emma replied, and then frowned. Elliot wasn't known for being a bookworm. She smiled and understood when she saw the title of the book. _Racing Cars and Other Automobiles. _She laughed. She walked over to him and kissed him on the top of the head. She had missed her little brother – her whole family – a lot more than she'd shown it.

"Emma!" He squirmed.

She laughed and ruffled his light blond hair, which was quite similar to her own.

"Get off, Emma!" He whined.

She released her brother from her grip. "Okay, okay."

She sat back down and grabbed the book she had discarded earlier in the morning. She started reading.

When Emma had finished her book – which she was surprised to do, she must have become a faster reader than she expected – her mother called her for dinner. But Emma didn't find herself eating much of it, just daydreaming and zoning in and out, twirling her pasta with her fork disconnectedly.

"Emma honey?" Her mother's voice jolted her out of her stupor. "Are you alright?"

"Mmm?" She looked up at her dazedly before shaking her head. "I mean, yeah mum?"

"You've been twirling that pasta for fifteen minutes."

"Oh, right." She murmured. "Just not really hungry," She looked up at her mother. "May I be excused?"

He mother looked at her for a moment. "Of course."

Emma nodded and pushed herself away from the table, standing up and walking up on the stairs. Her mother called after her.

"But you'd tell us if there was anything wrong, right honey?"

Emma turned around and surveyed the scene. Her mother was looking at her intently, while her brother was digging in to his meal, and her father doing the same, but still partially listening to their conversation.

"Of course, mum."

Her mother smiled and Emma took that as her cue to go back up the stairs. She walked into her bedroom and sat down on her bed. She was still quite tired, and figured it wouldn't kill her to get to bed a little earlier than usual. So she pulled back the covers and crawled into her soft bed, letting the warmth from her blankets seep into her body.

She was soon fast asleep.

Emma's eyes opened to sunlight. She stretched and climbed out of bed and brushed her hair, changing into a fresh pair of clothes. She walked downstairs and looked outside. It was a sunny day.

"Mum?" She said, turning away from the window and to her mother. "I take it dad has gone to work?"

Her mother nodded and took another spoonful of cereal.

"I'm probably going to go out today." Emma said, running her hands through her hair.

"Are you going to have breakfast first?" Her mother asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Probably not."

"Well then have this apple." Her mother took an apple from the fruit bowl and tossed it to her.

Emma caught it skilfully, even though she was on the opposite side of the room to her mother. "Thanks." She said and walked out of the door.

Emma walked down the path, taking a bite out of her apple. Her phone started ringing, and she slid it out of her pocket.

"Hello?" She answered, taking another bite out of her apple.

"Hey. You know when your shift is, right?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Yes, Zane. You're being a little paranoid. A little like me, actually."

"Hey!" He protested. "I resent that!"

"It's true, though." She paused. "Did Rikki put you up to this?"

There was silence for a moment. "Maybe." That basically meant yes. Rikki must have asked yesterday, because Emma didn't expect her to be up at this hour.

"Whatever. I'll see you later, Em." He said after her moment of silence.

"Bye, Zane."

"Bye."

The line went dead, and Emma pocketed her phone. She threw her apple up in the air and caught it, looking around. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing her hair, and there were smiling people all around her. A day like this always reminded her of Ash.

_Ash. _She smiled at the thought of him. He had been so supportive of her. She wouldn't have been able to get through any of this without him.

_Flashback__  
_  
Emma was crying on her bed in her bedroom in Zane's house.

The door opened slowly, revealing a concerned Ash.

"Go away!" She screamed and threw a huge cushy pillow – one of the many huge cushy pillows that were littered around her bed – at him.

He dodged it with ease, and she felt a soft thump as he sat down next to her. She felt a comforting hand petting her hair, and she sobbed harder.

"What's the matter, Em?" He said soothingly.

She just buried her head further in the pillows.

"Your family?"

Emma swallowed and nodded slowly, her head stifled with the pillow.

His fingers intertwined with her own.

"Emma, come on, look at me." He coaxed. She turned over reluctantly, her face stained with tears.

He gently wiped them away. "You can call them if you'd like,"

She stiffly shook her head.

"Okay..." He paused. "Then how about you come with me? We could have a juice?"

She sat up and looked at him.

"I just miss them so much." She whispered, tears shining in her eyes.

Ash stretched his arms out to her and she melted into them. She sobbed on his shoulder.

"Shhh," He soothed. "It's going to be alright."

_End of Flashback_

Emma soon found herself at Cleo's house. She hasn't really intended to go there – her feet had just carried her there. She knocked on the door lightly, and after a moment's pause, a slightly dishevelled looking Cleo opened the door.

She twirled at a strand of her messy hair. "Emma? What are you doing here –" She yawned, "– So early?"

Emma beamed. "I thought I'd visit you."

Cleo yawned again, stretching out her arms. "That's great and all, but I haven't even had breakfast yet."

"I don't mind," Emma replied. "I haven't either." She paused, looking down at the half-eaten apple in her hand. "Well, not really."

Cleo nodded slowly. "Alright, come on in."

Emma smiled and followed her inside the residence. When she walked into the house, her phone started ringing.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey Em," Rikki replied nonchalantly.

"Rikki?" Emma asked, surprised. "I wasn't expecting you to be up this early."

"Life is full of surprises. Anyway, listen," Rikki took a deep breath in. "I need to talk to you later."

"Alright. How about in my break when I come for my shift?" Emma asked.

"No," Rikki said quickly. "I need to _really _talk to you."

"Okay then, what do you propose we do?" Emma questioned, a little concerned at her friend's anxious tone.

"Meet me at Mako at four."

"Okay – Rikki? Rikki?" Emma rolled her eyes, realising Rikki had already hung up.

She turned to Cleo, pocketing her phone and frowning. "She hung up on me."

Cleo laughed. "Typical Rikki."

"Yeah," Emma laughed along with her – a weak laugh, accompanied with a twitching frown, "Typical Rikki."

* * *

Bella paced back and forth across her room, frowning.

"Bella, honey?" Her mother called up to her.

Bella poked her head out of her door. "Yeah?" She yelled back.

"Can you come down here for a second, please?"

Bella sighed. "Coming." She said and made her way down the stairs.

"Honey, if you could just grab those carrots from over there on the bench..." Her mother said as Bella walked into the kitchen. She was making Bella's dinner for later, for when she and Bella's father would be out.

"Sure," Bella said with a shrug, stepping behind the counter. She reached for the carrots.

_Oh no._

Her mother noticed her contorted expression and looked at her. "Honey, everything alright?"

_They're wet._

Bella's eyes widened in terror and she dashed out of the room.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Her mother called after her, but Bella could barely hear her voice, her mind was so swimming with fear.

Bella sprinted for the bathroom and slammed it shut behind her. She transformed, teetering on her fin for a moment before falling over.

"Ouch!" She cried as her body collided with the hard tiles.

"Bella, honey?" A knock came on the door. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine!" Bella called back, her voice cracking.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to come in?" Her mother called, her voice full of concern.

"No!" Bella nearly screamed, becoming more stressed every second her mother was standing outside the door, "No, definitely not!"

"Alright..." Her mother said hesitantly, and Bella could hear her relinquish her hold of the doorknob. She was even more relieved when she heard footsteps walking away.

_I really should have been more careful,_ Bella thought regretfully,_ I should've checked if they were wet.__  
_  
As Bella was reaching for the towel, the last droplets of water dried off her skin and she found herself jammed against the sink.

She let out a sigh of relief and hopped up, leaving the bathroom and walking back into the kitchen where her mother stood.

"Is there anything else I can do?" She asked, looking at her mother hopefully.

"No, it's alright, I've done that..." She said, and Bella felt kind of guilty. But all traces of sympathy left when she heard her mother's next comment.

"But you could still get those carrots..."

_Oh boy.__  
_  
"Er, actually," Bella stuttered, thinking of an acceptable excuse. "I have to go meet someone," She ran to the coat rack, hurriedly grabbing her jacket. "Right now."

"But can't you just get those carrots?" She asked with a quizzical expression.

"No," Bella pretended to look at her watch. "I'm late."

She ran out of the door before her mother could say anything further.

She ran down to the beach and sat on the sand. She fiddled with her phone, frowning. She dialled a familiar number.

"Bella?"

"Hi Will." Bella replied.

"Hey, how are you doing?" He asked happily.

"You know, if you didn't want to go swimming with me, you could've said so."

"What?" He asked.

"I waited on the beach all day." She said sadly.

"I'm sorry Bella," He said. "I ran into Sophie, and I totally forgot. I'm sorry." He repeated.

Bella shrugged uncomfortably. "Yeah, it's alright, I guess."

"Okay..." He said hesitantly. "But, how are you doing?"

"Nearly got exposed to my mother."

"_What?_" His voice rose a couple of notches.

"Calm down, it all worked out." She said soothingly. Strange, she never thought she'd have to soothe someone _else_ for her near exposure.

"Good. Wow, I was really worried there for a second." He gasped out.

Bella laughed, and felt a warm feeling growing in her chest. He had been worried about her.

"Hey," Will cut her away from her thoughts. "Do you want to go down to the reefs today?" He asked. "Rikki and Cleo were gossiping about some really beautiful ones and I was wondering if you'd like to go check them out."

Bella beamed. "Sure, I'd love to."

"Great."

Usually she would save something as special as the reefs for her and the girls, but she figured this could be something for her and Will to do together. Something just for them.

* * *

Emma looked at her watch for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. She had just been on a long, nice swim, because she really had no other idea on how to pass the time.

So she had gone to the café, to pass the thirty minutes that was yet to go before her shift. She walked in, seeing Zane serving a table with three boys, and she walked up to him.

"Is Rikki around?" She asked.

"Yeah," He said and gestured to the back room. "She's in the office."

Emma nodded at him. "Thanks."

She walked into the office, to see Rikki staring down at some pieces of paper, an intense look on her face.

"Zane, can you –" Rikki stopped when she looked up. She seemed to relax. "Oh, hey Emma."

Emma waved. She raised an eyebrow. "Who knew Rikki Chadwick could survive in the world of business?" She said, eyeing the papers in her hands.

"Oh, these," Rikki seized the papers off her lap and stuffed them behind her back. "These are nothing."

Emma sat down next to her with a soft thump. "What are they, Rikki?"

Rikki sighed, before letting out a half-laugh. "They are formal complaints from a certain Sophie Benjamin."

Emma immediately scowled. "What's she up to now?"

Rikki shrugged. "Just sending in letters on how her firing was 'unjustified' and 'undeserving'."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Remove the 'un' from both of those words and she is totally right."

Rikki pressed her hand to her forehead and Emma gently rubbed her on the back.

Emma looked at her with concern. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine," Rikki nodded. "I just really, really hate Sophie."

Emma laughed. "We all do," She sighed. "I'm worried about her screwing up Bella and Will's relationship. I mean, they're a fairly new couple, and Sophie isn't exactly... well, on _good_ terms with Bella." She said, cringing.

Rikki looked at her and frowned. "Yeah. But, I mean, Sophie may be annoying, but I don't think she'd ruin her brother's relationship just because she hates his girlfriend."

Emma gave her a look.

"Okay. You're right. She definitely would."

Emma laughed and wrapped an arm around her best friend. "We'll just have to watch out for her, that's all."

Rikki raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean more than usual?"

Emma laughed again. "Yes, _more than usual._"

Rikki let out a sound of agreement and leant back into the cushions.

She looked at Emma curiously. "So, you ready for your second day?"

Emma grinned. "Bring it on."

Rikki laughed. "You're so strange, Em."

Emma squinted at her. "How so?"

"You love work."

Emma shoved her hard in the shoulder. "Excuse me? You're the one running a _cafe!_"

Rikki snorted. "That may or may not have something to do with Zane."

"Yeah, like how you can't stay away from him for five minutes!"

Rikki rolled her eyes. "And what about Ash, hmm?"

Emma glared at her. "I don't have to see him every day."

"You don't work with him."

"I used to!"

Rikki looked at her and eventually sighed. She threw her hands up in the air. "Point taken."

Emma burst out laughing. "Here we are, having _another _fight about boyfriends? I thought we'd gotten over that." She laughed again. "Man, sometimes we're just a little ridiculous."

Rikki looked at her with mild amusement. She raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes?"

Emma punched her in the shoulder playfully. "Yeah, and it's not that little either."

Rikki laughed. "Totally agree with you on that one,"

_Crash!_

Both Rikki and Emma shot up.

Emma looked at Rikki uncertainly. "What was _that?_"

"Let's go find out."

The two girls ran out into the main area of the café to see Zane leaning over a pile of dropped juices. Liquid was everywhere.

It pooled up to Emma and Rikki's feet, seeping through their shoes.

Zane seemed to notice this, his eyes widening. "Guys, run!"

They did as they were told, dashing into the office.

Rikki fell over with a startled cry. "Whoa!"

Emma whipped around and locked the door before falling on top of Rikki. "Oof!"

They squirmed, their tails flapping as they struggled against each other, amounting to getting only more stuck than they already were.

"Mind getting off me, Em?" Rikki asked, irritated.

"It would help if you could dry me first!" She snapped back.

"You're pinning my hands down!" Rikki cried.

They both looked at each other. Or tried to, the result was their skulls getting banged against one another.

"_Zane!_" They screamed.

After a minute, Zane came rushing into the office, only to collide with the closed door.

"Darn – I locked it!" Emma shouted in frustration.

"Good thinking, Em." Rikki remarked sarcastically.

"Hey! I couldn't let any random person come in and see us lying on the floor with _tails, _now could I?" Emma cried in her defence.

Rikki didn't answer for a second. "Relax, Zane has the keys."

They waited a second. There was no sound of a key in a lock.

"Uhh, _Zane?_" Rikki called out uncertainly. "You do have the keys, right?"

There was silence for a moment.

"Um," Was the muffled reply, "No?"

Rikki almost screamed. _Almost.__  
_  
"Don't we always keep a spare set in the locked draw behind the counter?" She called out.

"Ah! Yes! That we do!" He exclaimed and scampered off to fulfil Rikki's wishes before she could get any angrier at him.

"Let just hope he has the keys to that," Emma muttered.

"He does." Rikki answered matter-of-factly. "Each of us always keeps a set in our pocket. Especially because that draw has mermaid pictures."

Emma choked. "Pictures of us as _mermaids?_ Why would _they _be in _there?_"

"Long story."

"Umm, Rikki, have you _seen _the situation we're in?" Emma said, wiggling her fin a bit, "I think we have time."

Rikki sighed. "Birthday present."

Emma let out a stifled laugh.

"Hey!" Rikki cried in her defence. "If you weren't crushing my hands right now, you would be _so _dead."

Emma just kept laughing.

Rikki huffed. "It's hard to get a present for the boy who has _everything,_" She mumbled.

Emma immediately felt bad. "Rikki, I'm sorry."

"It's alright." She sighed, in her best _blow it off _voice.

Seconds later, Zane came bounding into the office, looking rather triumphant as the keys jingled in his hands. Rikki looked up at him hopefully.

"Zane, sweetie, light of my life, would you please GET EMMA OFF ME!" She screeched, flapping her tail mercilessly.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Emma yelled, "Be still for a second, would you?"

Rikki immediately stopped wiggling. "Sorry."

"Alright," Zane said, rubbing his hands together. "Zane his here, ladies. No need to worry." He said with a wry smile.

"Shut up and stop showing off!" Rikki snapped.

Zane shrunk back. "Yes ma'am." He mock-saluted and leant down, picking Emma up off his girlfriend. Emma's tail flapped in his face.

"Emma!" He sputtered, trying to keep his grip on the mermaid. "Stop slapping me!"

"Yeah, Emma!" Rikki jeered from her place on the floor. "Keep slapping him!"

Emma scowled. "It's not my fault when I'm being handled by an idiot!" She snapped at Zane.

Zane rolled his eyes and immediately dropped her to the floor. She rolled over and glared at Zane.

"Ow, Zane!" She complained. "Any polite thoughts I had left for you just flew out the widow."

"Well maybe you should have thought twice before calling me an idiot! I was just trying to help!" He shouted at her.

"Yeah right." She snapped. "You can barely hold a girl and keep yourself up straight at the same time! Pathetic." She spat. Having multiple arguments while lying on top of her best friend and depending on a jerk to help them had put her in a rather ill-tempered mood.

"It's not my fault you're so heavy!" He cried in his defence. He soon found himself frozen to the spot.

Literally.

"Hey!" He shouted, glaring fiercely at Emma.

Emma sniffed and looked at Rikki.

Rikki got the feeling Emma wanted out of there – and wanted to make a big and dramatic exit, thus making Zane look stupid – and Rikki wasn't about to deprive her of it. She quickly flexed her hand and dried Emma off.

Emma hopped up and flounced out, slamming the door loudly behind her.

Zane looked confused. "Was it something I said?"

Rikki shook her head as she dried herself off. She walked up to Zane and fixed him with a stern glare. She raised an eyebrow.

"Haven't you learned anything from Will?"

Zane raised his eyebrows in bewilderment. "What? What does Will have to do with anything?"

Rikki shook her head and chuckled.

"Never call a girl _heavy,_"

Zane's eyes widened. "_Oh._"

"Yeah," She said, shaking her head. "You're an idiot."

Rikki walked out of the office.

"Hey!" He called after her. She turned around. "You're just gonna just leave me here?"

"Yup." She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "That a problem?"

She didn't wait for him to respond. She just walked off, laughing.

She walked up to Emma, who was sitting in a booth, her head resting on her arms, staring at her juice moodily.

"Emma," She said, shaking her on the shoulder. "It's time for your shift."

Emma looked up at her, scowling. "I'm not sure I want to work if it means I have to be near Zane."

Rikki sat down next to her. "Yeah, but you love work, remember?"

Emma laughed. "Alright, I'm coming." She nodded and slid out of the other side of the booth.

"You remember where the aprons are, right?" Rikki asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah." Emma replied. Her friend really didn't rely on her, despite the fact that Emma obtained the far better memory...

Rikki hopped up and walked with her.

"Zane is really insensitive," Emma remarked, sniffing.

"No, more like..." Rikki pondered for a second. "Ignorant."

Emma sniffed again.

"Hey," Rikki said, nudging her. "Don't worry about it. You look good. You eat right – despite the fact that Cleo and I laugh about it behind your back –" Emma glared at her.

"Right. Totally off topic. Moving on," Rikki nodded decisively, not feeling all that much like dealing with Emma's wrath right now. "And you still have all those totally_ psychotic _–" Emma glared at her again. "– Habits left over from the swim team."

Emma sniffed. This made her feel a little bit better, though she wouldn't dare admit it. She looked at Rikki with a weak smile. "Thanks."

Rikki beamed. "Anytime,"

Emma nodded and tied an apron around her waist. She raised an eyebrow. "Ready to get this party started?"

Rikki grinned. "You're strange." She said, then shrugged. "But sure."

* * *

Finally, it was Emma's break, and she walked into Rikki's office. But she only found Zane. Again.

"Is Rikki about?" She asked, walking in and placing her apron on a corner of the desk.

"Last I heard she was heading outside," Zane said and gestured to the exit of the café.

Emma smiled. "Thanks." She said and walked out.

Zane just nodded and got back to his work, completely forgetting about the incident earlier that day.

Emma found Rikki outside, sitting on a bench and looking out to the sea.

"You alright?" Emma asked and slid down beside her.

Rikki only just seemed to notice she was there. "Oh no, I'm fine."

Emma shrugged. "Okay."

"It's a beautiful day," Rikki turned to Emma. "Don't you think?"

Emma somewhat ignored her. "You said you wanted to talk to me," She paused, looking at Rikki pointedly. "Talk."

Rikki shook her head. "Not here. It's too important."

Emma nodded hesitantly. "Alright..." She grinned and took a piece of paper out of her back pocket. "Can you tell me about these new additions to the menu?"

Rikki laughed and took the paper out of her hands. "Sure."

"What's this one?" Emma said, pointing to a smudged scribble on the paper.

Rikki squinted at it and chuckled. "Cleo made that one." She laughed again. "Can't you tell from the name?"

Emma laughed along with her. "I had my suspicions,"

Rikki grinned. "Anything else?"

Emma's eyebrows creased and her mouth formed a tight line. "Well, there are still a few I don't really know about..."

Rikki pointed out the last handful of drinks, making sure to help her eager friend.

* * *

Emma swam into the moon pool and propped herself up on the rock.

"Have a good day?" Rikki asked. She had been there when Emma came in.

Emma sighed contentedly. "You bet."

Rikki beamed. "Good."

Emma turned to her, puzzlement taking over her facial features. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

A look of hesitation passed over Rikki's face.

Emma floated closer to her. "What is it?"

Rikki swallowed. "Cleo."

Emma froze. "What about her?"

Rikki sniffed. "We... we, well... we saw..."

Emma frowned and placed a reassuring arm on Rikki's shoulder. "What is it, Rikki?"

Rikki swallowed and turned to her slowly. "We saw Lewis in the mall."

A range of emotions flashed across Emma's face. She drifted away from Rikki.

"Emma?" Rikki asked uncertainly. "Emma, are you okay?"

Emma sniffed and looked at Rikki, one emotion now showing clearly. Rage.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Rikki swallowed. "Cleo didn't want me to..."

"You know better than to listen to her!" Emma shouted.

"But she..."

"I'm not listening to this!" Emma screamed. She glared at Rikki. "I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"But Emma, I..." Rikki tried. She knew where this was going.

"Don't even try," Emma sniffed.

She began swimming to the entrance. "I thought I knew you better,"

She turned, tears shining in her usually bright blue eyes.

"But obviously not." She said and swam out.

Rikki thought she had been doing good. But she swam out, feeling as though she had just lost a friend.


	27. Chapter 27: Beware The Full Moon

**Hello again! As you can probably tell from the title, this chapter is about the full moon. But I don't want to give anything away. So, without further ado, here is chapter twenty-seven of Blue Light! I do not own H2O. **

* * *

Emma slammed down her tray in frustration. She peered around. Rikki wasn't here.

Strange.

With a sigh, she walked into the office to find Zane.

"Where's Rikki?" She demanded.

Zane peered up at her. "She called in sick."

He got up out of his chair and walked up beside her. "And we both know Rikki doesn't call in sick."

Emma snorted. "I don't really care." She said and stormed out.

Emma bit her lip. She wasn't worried about Rikki – she was worried about something much more frightening.

The full moon.

It was tonight.

She was scared out of her mind. She had been having nightmares about the last one for weeks. But now she had the real thing to worry about.

"Emma?"

"Emma!" Zane's voice cut her out of her thoughts.

Emma turned around, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," She stuttered. "I shouldn't be..." She trailed off, her hands shaking.

Zane frowned and stepped closer to her. "Emma? Emma, what is it?"

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "I-I'm just so scared..."

"Em?" He asked uncertainly, looking down at her.

She sniffed. "I'm sorry." She said.

People were beginning to stare, so Zane took Emma's hand and pulled her into the office.

She leant against the wall, sniffing and wiping at her eyes.

Zane frowned in concern. "What's up?" He asked as gently as he could manage.

Emma just sniffled for a moment. "The full moon's tonight." She whispered.

Zane's eyes widened. He knew why Emma was so upset.

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It'll be alright, Em."

Emma shook her head. "No it won't." She sniffed.

"Yes it will." Zane said confidently. "We'll all be there to protect you."

Emma rose an eyebrow at him, and managed an amused smile. "You really think you can defend yourself against a freakish tower of water bended to the will of the full moon?"

The way Emma said it made Zane shrink back a little bit. He gulped. "No," He managed. "But we'll try our best."

Emma looked up at him with a half smile. She walked to the door and turned.

"Thanks."

Zane mock-saluted. "No problem."

Emma nodded and walked out.

Zane frowned. He didn't know how this next full moon was going to go, but he prayed all of his friends would be safe.

Emma gave a watermelon smoothie to a young girl sitting alone and walked back to serve another drink. Her mind wandered as she did so. Despite Zane's reassurances, she didn't think she would be okay this full moon.

But all she could do was wait and see.

She tried to get back to work, when her phone started ringing. She quickly answered it before she could draw any more attention.

"Ash?" She answered.

"You're worried, aren't you?"

Emma's voice came out confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The full moon."

A shiver ran down her spine. "A little, I guess."

There was silence for a second. "I think I know you better than that, Em."

Emma scowled. "Fine. I'm scared out of my mind. You happy now?" She snapped.

"No, of course not. I don't want you to be frightened."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Well I'm hanging up."

"I'll be at your place at four."

"Don't bother." Emma snapped as she hung up.

Emma scowled and went off to fill more orders.

* * *

Rikki hopped down from the chair with a thump.

"This window's done," She said and went over to the kitchen, beginning to rummage through the fridge.

Emma raised an eyebrow and glared. "And who said you could help yourself to that?"

Rikki banged the door shut with her hip. "The best friend leprechaun," She grinned. "It knows all the laws that come with being a best friend."

Emma scoffed. "Just make sure to clean everything up," She said, eyeing the mess Rikki had already made. She knew her request wouldn't be fulfilled.

A loud holler wafted down the stairs. "Elliot's room's done!" Cleo yelled, thumping down the stairs.

Emma turned to her brunette friend. "Is upstairs all secure?"

Rikki answered for her. "Nope," She grinned. "But we have the boys for that."

"Speaking of," Cleo said, looking down at her watch and then back at Emma. "Weren't they supposed to be here at six, like us?"

Rikki snorted. "Boys. They think they're the dominant of the species, but it's so obvious they're not," She grinned. "And they're always, _always_ fashionably late."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Like you?"

Rikki poked her tongue out at Emma. "Whatever."

Emma scowled and turned away from her, arms folded.

Cleo's eyebrows creased with worry. "Has there been a conflict I don't know about?"

"No," Emma spat bitterly. "Everything's fine."

"Yes," Rikki glared back defiantly. "Absolutely fine."

Cleo frowned. She walked into the middle of the room. It looked like she'd have to play peacemaker again.

"Guys..." She said wearily. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Rikki said as she grabbed another roll of duct tape off the arm rest. "It's just –"

"Hey..." The strange note in Emma's voice caught the other two mermaids off guard.

Cleo walked up to her and put an arm on Emma's shoulder. "What's wrong, Em?"

Emma turned to her, a confused look taking over her facial features. "Ash said he was going to be here at four, that's all."

Cleo shrugged. "Maybe something came up and he's a little late."

Rikki frowned and walked over to the two. "Unlikely."

Cleo and Emma turned to her. "What?"

"If all the boys weren't here at the right time, it's more likely that something's happened to _all_ of them, not just Ash." Rikki explained.

"Wait a minute..." Cleo said warily, looking at her watch then back up at her friends. She had a strange look on her face. "Where's Bella?"

Emma's eyes widened. "Yeah, wasn't she supposed to be here ages ago?"

Rikki nodded, then shrugged. "Maybe it's just traffic."

Emma sighed. "Rikki, three out of the four people not here don't have cars."

"So, Ash has a car?"

Emma shook her head. "I'm not sure."

Rikki bit her lip. "Isn't it strange to have happened to all of them?"

Emma shrugged. "Maybe they're coming together."

Then, a knock at the door made them all jump.

Cleo sighed in relief and walked to the door. "Good, they're here."

She opened the door to grinning faces.

Cleo squinted at them, confused. "Uh... _guys?_"

"We're going to have some fun tonight," Bella ducked under Cleo and spread some things out on a table.

"What?" Rikki, Emma and Cleo chorused in unison.

Bella turned to them and grinned. "We've brought some fun stuff to get through the night," She explained. "Food, fizzy drink, board games –"

"Board games make me bored." Rikki piped in.

Bella fixed her with a sharp glare, before smiling. "Well stuff you."

Rikki stepped back shyly.

Cleo was still confused. "So..."

Zane walked into the room and plopped down three bottles of fizzy drink. "If we're stuck in here, we may as well make the most of it."

Emma, Rikki and Cleo exchanged looks.

"Come on!" Bella whined while the others came into the house.

Cleo shrugged and joined her friend on the floor.

Rikki looked at Emma before doing the same.

Emma hesitated.

"Em?" Cleo looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know..." Emma cast a wary look to the covered windows.

Rikki's eyes widened suddenly. "Dang it!" She yelled, causing everyone to look at her. She darted up.

"Sorry." She apologised. "But the windows and stuff upstairs aren't covered."

Cleo's eyes widened with anxiety. "Boys, quickly!"

The boys nodded and scrambled upstairs, taking armfuls of cardboard and duct tape as they went.

Emma sighed in relief and walked to the other side of the room.

"Emma?" Bella looked up at her hopefully. "You coming?"

Emma shook her head. "I'm fine. Not really up for games right now."

Cleo smiled up at her sympathetically. "It's alright, Emma. Join in when you feel like it."

Emma smiled back at her.

Rikki cast a concerned look up at the anxious blonde, which luckily, Emma didn't notice. They may not be on such great terms, but Rikki was a good friend and knew when to be worried.

* * *

"Aw, dang it!" Bella complained as Rikki bested her at another game of Monopoly.

"Told you." Rikki boasted, waggling her tongue at the fellow mermaid.

"Now now, no one likes a show off," Cleo chastised.

Rikki smirked at her. "You're only saying that because you've _lost _the last three games,"

Cleo pouted, folding her arms. "Hey! Not nice!"

Rikki grinned. "But it's _true,_" She taunted.

Cleo rolled her eyes and stood up, stretching out her arms. She walked over to Will and leant against the wall.

"Thanks for doing this," She whispered. She cast a wary look to Emma. "She really needed something to take her mind off the full moon."

Will nudged her in the shoulder and smiled. "No problem," He too looked at Emma. "Just doing something for a friend."

Cleo nodded at him and went and sat back down.

"Emma?" She called to her friend. "Are you gonna come sit with us?"

Emma shrugged in response. "Maybe later," She mumbled.

Cleo nodded and scooted up next to Rikki.

Cleo leant over and whispered in her ear. "Do you know if she's alright?"

Rikki shrugged a little uncomfortably. "I don't know. But we need to do something to get her mind off the moon. This obviously isn't working."

Cleo frowned. "But what, though?"

Rikki sighed. "I would've thought being here with her friends and boyfriend would've been enough... maybe Ash can talk to her?"

Cleo shook her head. "Bad idea. I heard they had a fight."

Rikki leant back with a thump. "Well what else is there?"

Cleo racked her brain. "Uhh... I would say a swim, but that's obviously not a good idea..." She mumbled, then sighed. "I really don't know."

A tap came on Rikki's shoulder.

Cleo and Rikki looked up to see Emma standing above them. They swallowed. Hopefully she hadn't heard their conversation.

"Guys?" Emma asked. "I was wondering if maybe I could go to bed early,"

Rikki and Cleo exchanged wary looks.

"I'm feeling a little sick," Emma explained. She looked around. "I just want to go to bed."

Cleo smiled softly up at her. "Sure. Just call us if you need anything, okay?"

Emma nodded. "Okay."

She walked up the stairs while Rikki and Cleo pretended they weren't watching her.

"Hey!" Bella called, sitting down next to him with a thump. She looked at them curiously. "What's up with Emma?" Her face creased with worry. "Is she alright?"

Cleo nodded mutely.

Rikki saw that Bella was looking for a little more explanation. "Yeah, she's fine. She just said she was feeling a little sick. Probably just nerves."

Bella looked a little edgy. "Maybe we should check on her?"

Rikki shook her head. "Emma doesn't like it when people are nosy," She paused. "Especially us."

Rikki looked at Cleo, searching for her confirmation.

Cleo looked a little hesitant. "Rikki's right," She said. She swallowed. "But I can't help worrying about her."

Bella frowned. "Maybe we should check on her. She wouldn't even see us,"

Rikki shrugged uncomfortably. "But if she found out, we'd be maimed."

Bella and Cleo made sounds of agreement. "Point taken."

Bella frowned. "But we could still –"

"Shhh." Cleo hushed her, holding up a finger.

Bella glared at her. "Did you just _shush_ me?"

Cleo looked at her with urgent eyes. "No, _shh._"

Bella took note of the seriousness in Cleo's voice and shut her mouth.

Cleo looked at her friends with wide eyes. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Rikki asked curiously.

Cleo listened for a moment.

"I think it's Emma,"

Rikki and Bella looked at each other before the three scrambled up, thundering up the stairs.

"Emma?" Rikki whispered, knocking on the bedroom door.

No answer.

Rikki shrugged. She looked at the door; it was already ajar. She pushed into the room and looked around.

"Emma?" She called out again.

They were all quiet for a moment, and heard a small whimper.

Cleo rushed to the source of the noise. Emma was lying on the ground.

At Cleo's touch, her eyes fluttered open and she sat up.

"Emma?" Cleo asked anxiously, while Rikki and Bella knelt beside her. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Emma looked at Cleo, then Rikki, then Bella.

She smiled at the three. "I'm fine."

Her voice sounded odd.

And Rikki knew it. "Something's not right here..."

Emma got up in one fluid motion.

Cleo peered up at her. "Emma, what's wrong?"

Emma grinned.

"Let's swim to Mako,"

* * *

Ash pinned Emma down while she ranted on about how Mako would be so _beautiful _at this time of night.

Will raised an eyebrow at Ash. "Is that really necessary?" He inquired.

The girls looked at him as if he were crazy.

But then, Bella remembered, he had never seen them moonstruck.

She walked over to him and rested her arm on his shoulder. She looked him dead in the eyes. "Yes."

The way Bella said it made Will swallow and cast a wary eye on Emma.

Bella walked back to the girls.

"She's definitely moonstruck," Cleo murmured.

Rikki snorted. "Yeah, no kidding."

Cleo elbowed her. "I don't know how it's possible, I thought we'd overcome the whole moonstruck thing..."

Bella shrugged. "Well, it's happened, I say we just deal with it."

Rikki nodded. "Bella's right. There's nothing we can do now."

Cleo nodded and walked over to Emma tentatively, reaching out and putting a – what she hoped – reassuring arm on her shoulder.

Emma looked up at her, eyes gleaming with hope. "Oh, Cleo! Do _you _want to come swimming with me?"

Cleo shook her head. Emma's look changed from utter hope to extreme sadness. Her face almost made Cleo laugh, and she could hear Rikki snickering behind her.

Cleo squeezed Emma's shoulder and looked at her. "Listen, Emma, you're moonstruck. You're not thinking straight."

"Moonstruck..." Emma said dreamily, rolling the word around in her mouth. "I like that word..."

Cleo rolled her eyes. "Of course you do."

Rikki came up behind them, unsuccessfully trying to hide the grin on her face.

"Face it – she's totally loony."

"_Moon_ loony." Bella piped up from across the room, "That's not the same thing."

Rikki plopped down beside Emma, totally nonchalant. She turned to her.

"Now Emma," She said. Emma looked at her curiously. "You're going to stay right there while we watch a movie, okay?"

Emma pouted. "No! I want to swim! I want to swim with my tail!"

Rikki snickered before continuing. "Okay, we'll watch a movie, and after that, I _promise _we'll go swim."

Cleo looked at her with wide eyes.

Rikki looked at the brunette and shook her head so slightly Cleo could barely see it. She nodded and stepped back.

Emma whined. "But Mako will be beautiful!"

Rikki looked at her sternly. "After the movie."

Emma frowned. Her eyes narrowed for a second, before she turned to Ash, who up till now had been staring at her anxiously.

"I'm thirsty. Can you get me some water?" She looked at Ash with her best moonstruck puppy-dog eyes. "_Please?_"

"No."

Ash knew better than to get a moonstruck mermaid water so she could tip it all over herself and probably Rikki, Cleo and Bella too.

Cleo sighed. "This is going to be an interesting night..."


	28. Chapter 28: Seeing Things

The girls and guys had put on a movie, and since Emma wasn't exactly happy with that, she had settled for staring at the moon out of an open window.

"Remember," Zane whispered to Rikki, who was sitting next to him. "Don't look at Emma. Unless you want to end up moonstruck too."

Rikki smacked him hard on the shoulder. "And you've told me that, what, five times? In the past _hour?_" She said in a harsh whisper. "Cool it! I know what to do."

Zane shrugged and sat back, warily eyeing Emma because Rikki couldn't and he knew she'd be worried.

"Is she okay? She's okay, right?" Bella asked Will frantically for the sixth time in the last twenty minutes.

Will wrapped a reassuring arm around Bella's shoulder. "She's fine. Still staring at the moon. Like she was five minutes ago."

Bella relaxed a little. "Sorry," She said, "I just worry."

Will laughed. "It's alright, I know you do."

Cleo leant over and murmured in Bella's ear.

Bella whispered back. "Will says she's fine. Just staring out the window."

Cleo let out a sigh of relief. "Good." She paused and squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to look at Emma. "But I don't trust her to stay that way."

Bella sighed. "I don't either, not really."

She sighed and turned her attention back to the movie. A poke on her shoulder caused her to look up, seeing Emma was standing above her.

"Emma? I thought you were," She snickered a little bit, "Looking at the moon?"

Emma shrugged. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

Cleo, who was beside Bella and had by now caught onto the conversation, narrowed her eyes before nodding slowly. "Okay. But don't take too long."

Emma smiled happily and skipped up the stairs.

Rikki, who was on the other side of Cleo, rolled her eyes. "Why do moonstruck mermaids have to be so unbearably happy?" She wailed.

"They're not always happy," Cleo chimed in. "Sometimes they're weird and scary."

Rikki shrugged. "Unless it's one of those times they adapt the personality of a three year old."

Bella laughed.

"Hey..." Will's voice caught them off guard.

Bella turned to him. "What is it?"

Will looked at her, extremely confused. "Is it... snowing?"

Cleo swallowed and looked up at the ceiling. She groaned. "I don't think she's in the bathroom anymore..."

Rikki, Bella and Cleo dashed up, heading for the stairs.

"Wait, guys!" Zane's voice caused them to stop and turn.

"If she's opened a window or something, you'll get moonstruck too."

Bella thought about this for a second. "He does have a point."

"But we need to see if she's okay!" Cleo cried.

"Will, Ash and I will go up first and check. Okay?" Zane looked at them seriously.

Rikki scowled terribly. "Okay."

Zane nodded. "Good." He said and the boys went past them and up the stairs.

"Come on," Rikki whispered and tugged on Bella's and Cleo's arms. "Let's go this way."

Bella and Cleo exchanged glanced before nodding.

Rikki twisted the handle on the big wooden doors and pushed them open.

She took a sharp breath in and stared at up at the moon.

All three girls were mesmerised for a moment, before they managed to snap out of it and keep walking.

"Now where would she be?" Rikki whispered.

"There!" Cleo shouted, pointing at a figure in the distance. "The docks!"

The three girls started running to catch up with Emma before she could jump in the water or run away. But when they got there, she was silent, staring up at the full moon.

Bella quickly grabbed her hands before she could run away. "Emma, you need to come back inside."

Emma didn't even look at her. "No."

Rikki came up behind her and grasped her shoulders, trying to drag her away, but she couldn't compete with Emma's superhuman moonstruck strength.

Cleo grabbed hold of her arm and yanked on it hard, but she still didn't budge. "Come on, Emma, you really need to come inside," She pleaded, "Just come with us, okay?"

Emma still stared up at the moon, transfixed and unmoving. "I'd forgotten how beautiful it is..."

For a moment, Cleo, Bella and Rikki looked up at the moon. For a moment they wondered if it would be better to join Emma, instead of fight her.

"Guys!" Zane's loud voice snapped them out of their trances. He ran up to them, fixing them with a stern glare. "I thought I told you not to come out here!"

"No, you told us not to follow you." Rikki said in a monotone voice. "If my memory serves me correctly, you were the ones following us."

Zane slapped his palm to his forehead. "Doesn't change the fact that you ignored my underlying reasoning. Do _not_ look at the full moon!"

Rikki rolled her eyes and turned to him. "We've spent more time at this than you, Zane," Her face became cold and she lost any trace of sarcastic sweetness. "I think we know what we're doing."

"Do you?" Zane looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Do you really?"

This time it was Bella who spoke. "Yes." She looked at Zane fiercely.

Zane swallowed and took a step back.

Will came running up to them, Ash tagging along behind him.

"What –" Ash puffed. "– Were you thinking?"

When he didn't get an answer, he decided to ask a different question. "Is she okay?"

Cleo and Rikki shrugged in unison and glanced at each other. "It depends on your definition of okay."

Ash didn't respond and instead walked up to Emma and placed a hand on her arm.

"Emma?" He asked tentatively. "Do you want to come inside?"

Emma looked at the people surrounding her, the people who had a firm grip on her. In one fluid motion, she pulled her arms down to free herself, and took off running.

"Emma!" Cleo yelled after her.

Emma skidded to a stop and dove off the docks.

Rikki groaned and ran up to where she had been standing. She looked down at the waves. "Now we'll never catch her."

"Unless we go to the moon pool," Bella piped up behind her. "I have a feeling that's where she'll be."

Rikki, Cleo and Bella looked at each other for a moment before they took off into the water, not bothering to wait for the boys consent.

Water rushed past them, pushing into their faces along with the bubbles they left in their path. Usually all girls would be smiling at the exhilarating yet familiar sensation of swimming through the beautiful Australian waters with a mermaids tail, but all of their minds were buzzing too loudly for them to really notice.

Cleo surfaced first, floating under the arch of rock that also provided as a brilliant hiding place, and listening out for any sounds that would alert her to Emma's presence in the moon pool. Bella and Rikki surfaced after her, and Cleo pushed a finger to her lips. They nodded.

The girls strained their ears to detect even the slightest abnormality of sound. Cleo heard a small scuffling, like someone kicking at a stone. She nodded and gestured for her friends to head forward with her. The three swam into the pool, and saw Emma on the sand, her knees tucked up to her chest and her head bowed.

"Emma? Emma, are you alright?" Cleo called, reaching out an arm to her.

"Cleo." Emma whispered, burrowing her head deeper into the crook of her arms.

Cleo swallowed and looked at her friends. One look at them and she could tell they were thinking the same thing. This was not the way a moonstruck mermaid acted.

"Emma, you need to snap out of it. You're moonstruck." Rikki said firmly.

Emma's head shot up, her eyes glowing with anger. "I am not moonstruck!" She screamed, but then a foggy look came over her eyes and she stood.

She swallowed and looked down at them. "Or maybe I am. I don't know," She said helplessly.

Bella swam up to the edge of the moon pool, fear shining in her eyes. "Please, Emma. You're scaring me."

Emma shook her head, putting her hands up to her forehead and rubbing her temples. Her familiar, warm blue eyes returned. "I'm sorry, Bella. I don't mean to scare you."

Bella heaved herself out of the pool and looked at Rikki. After a moment of silence, Rikki eventually acknowledged and dried her.

Bella stood and faced Emma. "Tell us what's happening, Emma."

Emma shook her head and clutched it so tightly her knuckles turned white. "No, no, get out of my head!" She screamed, and backed away from Bella so she was pressed up against the cavern wall.

Rikki looked at Cleo, swallowing in fear. "What's happening to her?"

Cleo's voice came out in a shaky whisper. "I don't know."

"Emma, Emma," Bella said, and grabbed her arms.

Emma was still clutching her head. She started shaking. "No, no," She whimpered.

Bella looked back at her friends, swallowing in fear. "Emma, what are you saying? What's in your head?"

Emma suddenly straightened, staring straight ahead, but not really seeing anything. "The moon. Pictures of the moon..."

Cleo and Rikki hurriedly hoisted themselves out of the pool and dried off.

Cleo walked up to the blonde, who was clearly not in her right mind, and gripped her arm tightly. "Emma. What's going on?"

Emma leaned against the cave wall. "My head..." She said, "My head... it hurts."

Rikki walked up to her, concern apparent on her face. "Emma, tell us what's going on with you."

Emma shook her head wrapped her arms around herself. "Lets go swim," She said suddenly. "No no, swimming is bad. Very bad..."

Rikki, Bella and Cleo looked at each other.

Cleo swallowed. "It's like she's..."

Rikki continued, receiving a sudden burst of clarity. "It's like she's fighting it."

Bella turned to them, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. "You mean like she's fighting the moon? Fighting against being moonstruck?"

Rikki nodded mutely.

Cleo frowned. "We've tried this before, though. But no matter how hard we try, the moon never lets go once we've seen it."

Rikki nodded. "But it sure seems like she's fighting moon fever,"

The three girls looked over to Emma, who had by now slumped down to the ground.

Cleo crouched in front of her. "Emma, Emma. What's going on in your head?"

Emma opened her eyes and looked up at the three standing before her. "I don't know." She said.

Rikki pushed past Cleo and helped Emma up. Emma pulled Rikki into a tight hug, murmuring something in her ear.

Rikki nodded and walked back to Bella and Cleo.

"What? What did she say?" Bella asked curiously.

"She said..." Rikki swallowed, her eyes flitting to Emma. "She said please. Please, help me get it out of my head."

"What? Get _what_ out of her head?" Cleo inquired, frowning.

Rikki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "The moon." She opened her eyes and looked at her friends. "Now I'm sure she's fighting her moonstruck urges. I mean, can you hear her alternating dialogue?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah. She keeps saying that she wants to swim, then that it's a bad idea, especially on a full moon."

Cleo swallowed. "I think maybe you guys are right." Her gaze travelled to Emma. "But... I mean, isn't it impossible?"

Rikki shook her head. "I don't think so. You say the moon never lets go once we've seen it, but she's so experienced with fighting against the moon that once she _is_ moonstruck, I think it's possible for her to fight it."

Cleo nodded. "You're probably right."

Bella's gaze rested on Emma and she sighed. "But whatever's happening, we have to help her." She said, wrenching her eyes away from the blonde in the corner.

Rikki, Cleo and Bella looked at each other.

"Agreed."

* * *

Emma slumped in the corner, looking into her hands.

"Emma." Rikki spoke from the other side of the cavern, her legs pressed up to her chest. She had found that when dealing with Emma in this precarious state, it was best to use simple and clear words and actions.

Emma looked up, but other than that, didn't register Rikki at all.

Rikki stopped herself from fidgeting with her hands, which were tightly clasped in her lap. It was driving her to madness that she couldn't jump up and pace, but, she reminded herself, the idea was not to startle Emma, and the one time she had, the poor girl had looked like a rabbit cornered by a snake. She idly wondered if they would have to wait here all night, or if Emma's odd behaviour would go before the sun came over the horizon.

Rikki cleared her throat. "How do you feel, Emma? Do you want to jump in the water?"

Emma didn't answer for several seconds. "No. I'll tell you again, I'm not moonstruck."

Rikki nodded. "And I accept that. But I was just checking."

Emma just mumbled something and buried her head in her arms.

Rikki looked up at Cleo, who was leaning against the moon pool wall, fighting the urge to bite her nails.

"When do you think the boys will catch up with us?" Rikki asked curiously, because no other topic of conversation came to mind.

Bella shrugged. She had jumped back into the pool, because she wasn't allowed to pace or jump up and down, and she settled for floating in the middle of the blue water. But now she was gripping the rock, looking up at her friends and swishing her tail smoothly through the water.

"I honestly would have expected them to catch up to us by now." She said, and shrugged again before dipping under the water.

Rikki leant against the rock, thinking. "I'm pretty sure I heard Zane say his boat was out of fuel today,"

Cleo shrugged. "They could always use Will's boat."

Rikki snorted. "I think Zane would rather shoot himself."

Cleo shook her head and laughed along with her friend. "What's with him anyway? He was... sort of fine until this year."

Rikki leant her head back against the rock. "He thinks Will is madly in love with me."

Cleo burst into laughter. "The only person he's _madly in love _with is Bella!" She giggled.

Rikki grinned. "I know. But he's stupid."

"What's this about me?" Bella surfaced next to them, a curious look on her face.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Rikki snickered.

Bella eyed her suspiciously for a second before going back under the water.

"So, basically..." Rikki said, stretching, "They'll be arguing at the docks for a good thirty minutes with Ash wafting in the background, attempting to play peacemaker."

Cleo doubled over, laughing at the ridiculousness of her friends' boyfriends.

Movement in the corner caught their attention, and all eyes focused solely on Emma.

"What's wrong?" Rikki asked as Emma stood.

Emma pressed two fingers to the side of her head. "I don't know."

Cleo and Rikki exchanged glances and ran up to their friend.

"Emma? Emma?" Cleo asked frantically.

Emma pushed her concerned friends away. "I'm fine, I'm fine." She muttered.

"I'm not sure..."

"I'm _okay._" She gave them a weak smile and paced to the other side of the cavern.

"Okay, now she's pacing." Rikki remarked, "She's on the verge of a breakdown."

Luckily, Emma didn't hear, and Cleo just nodded.

"Hey!"

Emma's shout surprised them, and Cleo and Rikki quickly ran over to her.

"Did I hear Emma shouting?" Bella surfaced in the moon pool, squinting suspiciously at the blonde in question.

Bella quickly heaved herself out and Rikki dried her, keeping her eyes on Emma at all times.

"What's wrong, Em?" Bella asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Don't you see that?"

Cleo looked around. "No..."

Rikki shook her head. "What are we looking for exactly?"

"Come on! You can't tell me you can't see that!"

"See what?" Bella pushed.

"That!" Emma shouted, stabbing a finger at thin air. "Right over there!"

"What? Where?" Rikki practically yelled. She was getting a little tired of this charade.

"No no no no no, I'm not going crazy. It's right there!"

"Emma, Emma," Cleo said, planting her hands firmly on the blonde's shoulders. "There's nothing there."

"Yes there is!" Emma shrieked, "I can see it!"

"Okay, okay," Bella pressed a hand to her forehead. "What does this thing look like?"

Emma tilted her head and squinted at air. "I... I'm not all that sure."

"Oh, great." Rikki threw her hands up in the air and stormed to the other end of the cavern.

"There!" Emma shouted, pointing frantically at Rikki. "It's right next to you!"

Rikki swung around. She pulled at her hair. "I don't see anything!" She screeched.

Emma sniffed and rubbed at her eyes. "But it's right there! _How_ can you not see it?"

Cleo swung on her. "Emma. Focus. _What does it look like?_"

Emma rubbed at her eyes and squinted. "It's... beautiful, sort of."

Bella frowned. "Sort of?"

"This is hard, okay?" Emma snapped.

She peered closer. She slumped to the ground and cradled her head in her hands. "I just can't do it!" She cried, "It's too hard!"

Cleo crouched down in front of her and touched her shoulder. "Emma, if you can't, that's okay."

Emma buried her head in her hands. "I'm sorry. My head... it hurts, it hurts so much."

"That's okay." Bella smiled down at her.

"Wait," Emma said, standing up quickly. "Can't you see that? It's moving!"

Bella looked around frantically. "Moving? Moving where?"

"There! Out of the cave!" Emma said, and hurried to follow it.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Rikki said, and quickly blocked her from leaving the moon pool. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"I'm following it!"

"Emma." Cleo grabbed Emma by the shoulders and turned her around. "You have to stay here."

"Cleo and Rikki are right, Emma." Bella piped up from behind her.

"But..." Emma looked at the three and shook her head. Her face went blank, so quickly it was scary. "I have to follow it."

"No." Rikki said firmly. "The only thing you _have_ to do is stay here."

"No!" Emma shouted and wrenched her arms out of her friends' grips. She ran out of the cave.

"Emma, wait!" Cleo called.

"Emma!" Rikki yelled.

"We have to follow her!" Bella shrieked.

The three ran out of the cave, after their fellow mermaid.

The lush foliage whipped in their faces, as they strained to hear their friend's footsteps and struggled to follow the flash of blonde hair.

"I just saw her!" Rikki cried, after having lost sight of the mermaid again.

"We'll find her again, we'll find her." Bella muttered.

"Bella's right," Cleo said. "We'll get her."

"You make it sound like we're chasing a criminal." Rikki remarked.

"A moonstruck mermaid is just as bad."

Bella and Rikki looked at each other and gulped.

"There she is!" Cleo shouted, flinging her arm out wildly. She started running faster, Rikki and Bella trying to keep up and see what she was chasing.

They came to the beach of the island, where Emma stood at the waves.

"Get her!" Bella shrieked, "Before she dives!"

But it was too late. One moment she was there, and the next she was only a ripple in the water.

Rikki dove after her, slicing through the waves. Cleo and Bella went in after her, and they all searched for their friend.

They followed Emma to a beach, which was secluded at this time of night.

"Emma, come back!" Cleo yelled, but Emma just ran away from her.

Rikki ran her hands through her hair with a frustrated sigh. "Come on. Let's follow her."

* * *

The waves crashed against the rock, and the wind blew furiously, full moon hanging over head.

"Emma!" Cleo gasped, doubled over and panting.

Emma stood at the edge of the cliff, staring at something the others couldn't see.

"Get away from there!" Bella screamed, "It's dangerous!"

Rikki ran up to her, but stopped a few feet short. "Emma. Come back."

Emma turned around slowly, her blue eyes pale and ghostly in the light of the moon. "No."

Rikki planted her feet firmly on the ground. "If you don't come back right now, I'll make you."

Emma turned her back to her. She pointed an arm out to the air. "But can't you see that? It's in front of me."

Rikki took a deep breath in. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'll try to understand, just please," She swallowed tears. "Please step away from that ledge."

Emma shook her head and let out a soft whimper. "But, I have to follow it."

"No you don't," Rikki said firmly, "You don't. You can come back now, with us."

"But I want to follow it. I need to follow it." Emma repeated.

Rikki edged her way closer to Emma. "You can follow it tomorrow. We'll all find it tomorrow, okay? We'll look for it then."

Emma turned around, tears shining in her eyes. "I want to, but – but I can't."

Rikki extended a hand and spoke softly. "Of course you can. You can come back with us, we'll look after you," She attempted a weak smile.

"We'll keep you safe."

Emma mimicked that smile and took a step toward Rikki.

The rock underneath her feet crumbled. She screamed.

"_Emma!_"


	29. Chapter 29: Bella Isn't A Morning Person

"Bella!"

A hiss next to her jolted Bella into consciousness.

"Hmm, wha?" Bella murmured and rubbed at her face, her eyes coming lazily into focus.

"Bella!"

Bella's head whipped to the side, and she came face to face with a scowling Emma.

Bella groaned. "Emma, what do you want?" She wailed, despairing at having being woken up early.

Emma's face creased into a frown.

"Bella, why am I tied to a bedpost?"

Bella groaned further. "Because you're an idiot,"

Emma made squeal of frustration. "And why have you accused me of being so?"

Bella muttered something unintelligible. "I don't know! I'm trying to sleep!" She whined.

"_Just untie me!_"

Bella groaned and her eyes fluttered open, resting on the positively fuming Emma who was currently tied to Cleo's bed with bundles of rope.

She sluggishly moved to Emma's side and fumbled at the ropes.

"Hurry up!"

Bella gave her a good shove. "I'm the one helping you here! I could just leave you to untie yourself!" Her gaze rested on Emma's face. "How would you like that, huh?"

Emma blew at her fringe, and Bella suspected she would take a swing at her if she had been privileged the use of her arms.

"Geez, you're grumpy in the morning."

"Not grumpy," Bella searched for the word. "Burnt out."

Emma rested her head against the wood of the post she was currently tied to, and sighed. It looked like Bella wasn't going to untie her any time soon, so she may as well make conversation.

"And why are you 'burnt out'?"

Bella threw her hands in the air and groaned, throwing her head back. "I'm tired. Don't ask me."

"I would stop asking if you'd just untie me!"

Bella put her hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. Geez, you're cranky in the morning."

Emma let out a wail.

"_Bella!_" She fumed. She let out a series of deep breaths and looked at Bella. "Untie me." She paused. "_Now._"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh."

"_Finally!_"

Bella grumbled something unintelligible and tried to loosen the restraints around Emma's wrists and legs.

"Ouch!" Emma cried. "Be careful, Bella!"

"Sorry, sorry," Bella muttered, continuing to fiddle with the rope.

Emma felt the restraints loosen a little, and grinned.

"Wait, why am I tied up in the first place?"

Bella stopped untying and groaned. "Stop asking questions! Do you want me to do this or not?"

"Fine." Emma grumbled. "But hurry up."

The ropes wound around Emma's wrists loosened even more, and she gave them a good yank, setting herself free.

"Yes!" She cried.

"Shhh!" Bella hissed, whacking her softly on the shoulder. "You may have no quarrels with waking me up, but there _are_ other people asleep here!"

"Oh," Emma said sheepishly, the sleeping figures of Cleo and Rikki catching her eye. "Right. Sorry."

"Yeah, you should be sorry," Bella muttered and turned over, trying her best to get to sleep on the rough carpet.

Curiosity nagged at the corner of Emma's mind. "Hey, why are we at Cleo's house?"

"Shut up!"

"No, seriously," Emma said, lowering her voice. She didn't feel like invoking the full force of a newly woken up Rikki. "I thought we were doing the full moon at my place–?"

A pillow smacked into her face.

"I told you to shut it!"

* * *

Emma wandered aimlessly around the house, trying to avoid Rikki, and get as much information out of her other two friends as she could.

She winced and rubbed at the angry red marks left on her hands by the ropes.

"Cleo, why are we at your place?" She asked her brunette friend, who was currently squinting up at her from her place on the couch. "I thought we were doing the whole full moon thing at my place? And another thing, why can't I remember anything? Was I moonstruck?"

Cleo groaned and rolled over. "Ask Rikki."

"I'm not on the best terms with her."

Cleo rolled over to face Emma again, covering her eyes with her hand.

"Why are we here?"

Cleo let out a long sigh. "We're here because you were knocked out and we were positively exhausted. My house was the closest place."

"I was _unconscious?_"

"Oh, go ask Rikki. She's the one who did all the bad things." Cleo swatted at her lazily and shielded her eyes from the light hanging above her head.

Emma frowned and strutted away from her friend. She didn't want to speak to Rikki; she was still angry with her for not telling her about Lewis. But if she was going to find out what happened last night, it looked like didn't have a choice. She took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen, where Rikki was taking a long gulp out of a glass of water.

Rikki turned to her with a raised eyebrow. Emma scowled.

"What's with all the attitude?" Rikki asked with a laugh.

"I'm still extremely, _extremely_ angry with you."

Rikki sighed and set her glass down on the counter. "I know you are."

Emma opened her mouth to yell.

"And you have every right to be."

Emma eyes opened wide with surprise. "What?" The normal Rikki she knew would never admit she was wrong. Man, everybody was seriously messed up today.

Emma crossed her arms and sniffed indignantly. "I don't care about that right now," She cleared her throat. "What in the world happened last night?"

Rikki's eyebrows raised in surprise and a smile crawled up her face. "Well, that's an interesting one."

"Just tell me what happened."

Rikki smirked. "Little miss Emma got herself moonstruck."

Emma scoffed. "Yeah, I figured that bit out, what _else_ happened?"

Rikki shrugged. "You went crazy."

Emma choked on her words. "W-what? _How_ crazy?" Her mouth clamped shut and she frowned. With all their misadventures over the years, just exactly how crazy really was crazy?

"Very."

"Okay, seriously, what happened?"

Rikki took another sip of water. "You got moonstruck and nearly died."

Rikki walked out of the kitchen, leaving Emma alone with her stunned silence.

Emma dashed out of the kitchen and shook Cleo awake. She felt a little bad for bothering her obviously exhausted friend, but she needed answers.

Cleo's eyes opened slowly and focused on Emma after a few seconds. "Emma? What is it?"

"What does Rikki mean, I nearly died?"

Cleo groaned. "I don't know, go ask Bella."

Emma opened her mouth to say more, but Cleo turned over and fell asleep again. Emma frowned and walked up the stairs, not having the heart to wake her up again. The last time she saw Bella it was in Cleo's room.

When she opened the door to her friend's familiar room, the first thing she saw was Rikki's hunched up figure in the corner. Emma immediately tensed, but Rikki was asleep, and emitting soft snores. Emma looked around the room and spotted Bella, who was pressed against the wall, but Emma could tell she was only trying to get to sleep, instead of actually sleeping.

"Bella!" Emma hissed, crouching next to her friend and shaking her. "Bella, wake up!"

"Oh, Emma," Bella groaned, swatting at her half-heartedly. "What do you want _now?_"

"Answers. No one else will give them to me."

Bella let out another groan and sat upright, looking at Emma. "What do you want to know?"

Emma swallowed and sat next to Bella. "What exactly did I do last night?"

"The normal moonstruck stuff,"

"Then why did Rikki say I nearly died?"

"Go talk to her," Bella said, pointing at the sleeping Rikki. "She's the one who saved your life,"

Emma's mouth dropped open and she could feel herself going a little lightheaded. Her gaze flicked over to the sleeping figure of Rikki, her chest rising and falling slowly. What the _heck_ had happened last night?

Emma wanted to ask Bella more questions, but the blonde had taken the chance to fall asleep. _I must've been a handful last night,_ Emma thought, looking at the two sleeping blondes in the room around her, _everybody seems really wiped out._

Emma crawled over to Rikki and bit her lip. _I really don't want to talk to her again,_ she thought, looking at Rikki's blank, sleeping face. _But it looks like I'll have to._

"Rikki..." She murmured, shaking the blonde's shoulder gently. "Rikki, wake up."

"No, gimme five more minutes," Rikki mumbled.

"No, Rikki, you have to wake up now." Emma continued shaking Rikki into consciousness.

Rikki swatted at her. "Ugh, Em, whaddya want now?" she asked lazily, her voice slurred with sleep.

"What happened last night? Bella says you _saved_ me?"

Rikki sat upright, rubbing her eyes. "You're not gonna let this go, so I'll tell you. You don't deserve it, though, not when we spent the whole damn _night _chasing you down."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You got moonstruck. We chased you to the moon pool, but you ran out. We chased you till sunrise." Rikki explained.

"Then why are Bella and Cleo saying I nearly died?"

"Because you did."

"Care to elaborate?"

Rikki let out a great sigh. "Fine. We kinda chased you to a cliff."

"A _cliff?_"

"Yup," Rikki nodded. "We tried to stop you from jumping."

"I was going to _jump?_" Emma choked out. "Did I?"

"Duh. You'd be dead if you had."

"Oh. Right." Emma said sheepishly. "Is that where you saved me?"

"Nope."

Emma let out a sound of frustration. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"I'd rather go back to sleep."

Emma stood up, her face glowing with anger. "Fine. I'll go talk to someone else." She wanted answers, but her pride was battling against her curiosity and so far winning.

"Bye, Emma."

Emma rolled her eyes and slammed the door behind her. She stormed downstairs, and saw Cleo moving sluggishly around the kitchen.

"Cleo!" She yelled. "You need to answer some things!"

Cleo winced and covered her ears. "Geez, loud much."

"Sorry," Emma said apologetically. She walked up to Cleo. "But no one's telling me what happened."

"Oh, fine." Cleo sighed. "How much do you know?"

"I know Rikki saved me." Emma paused, thinking. "And you guys chased me to a cliff."

Cleo pressed a hand to her forehead and went into the lounge and sat down. "Come here and sit down."

Emma sat down next to the brunette softly. "Okay..."

"Alright, here's what happened," Cleo took a deep breath. "We chased you to a cliff, with a steep drop that would have killed anyone who fell. Rikki begged, pleaded with you to come back, step away from the ledge, but you wouldn't."

Emma face went stony with terror.

"Eventually, she convinced you to come back with us. But you were on the very edge of the cliff, and the rock underneath your feet crumbled. You fell."

Emma turned to her, tears streaming down her face. "_What?_"

Cleo nodded solemnly.

_Flashback_

The wind whipped around their faces, and the waves crashed against the rocks of the cliff. The sun was coming up slowly over the horizon. Four girls stood atop the cliff, below them a stomach churning drop that would guarantee death to anyone who fell.

A single scream shattered the air.

Rocks crumbled underneath a blonde girl's feet, and her three friends screamed her name.

Tears streamed down the face of a curly haired blonde, and before she knew what she was doing, she reached out.

"No, Emma!" She screamed, and ran toward the girl. She grabbed her hand and they tumbled off the cliff together.

"Rikki!" Cleo shrieked, and she ran forward, but Bella grabbed her wrists and held them tight.

"No, Rikki, please!" Cleo sobbed, her hair falling over her face as her tears flowed.

"Bella, let me go!" She screeched, fighting as best she could against her friends' tight grip.

"No, Cleo!" Bella yelled, holding the girl tighter.

"Rikki, no, please!" Cleo screamed to the air. "Emma, Rikki, come back! Please!"

There was a long moment of silence as the restrained girl sobbed.

She shrieked as a pale hand reached over the rocks.

_End of Flashback_

"Basically, you fell, and Rikki grabbed you and you went off together. But Rikki somehow caught hold of the rocks, and pulled you both up. She saved you." Cleo explained, turning to Emma and wrapping an arm around her.

She held the girl as she cried, and they both looked up as Rikki flounced down the stairs.

Emma dashed up and ran to her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Rikki, I'm sorry I was so horrid," She sobbed.

Rikki didn't answer.

"Okay, Rikki, if you don't start hugging back, this is gonna get really weird really fast." Emma said, still holding Rikki in her grip.

"You're pinning my arms down."

"Oh," Emma let Rikki go and took a step back. "Sorry."

Rikki smiled and hugged Emma, more tightly than Emma had, if that was possible.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're not mad at me anymore," Rikki said, smiling.

"I'm so glad you saved me, or I wouldn't have the chance to be not mad at you," Emma replied.

Rikki and Emma drew out of the hug, and Rikki gave Emma's arm a reassuring squeeze.

"Are you okay?" She asked, concerned.

Emma shrugged. "Been better."

Rikki smiled weakly. "I think I know where you're coming from."

Emma smiled, her face lighting up like a lantern on a winter's night.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and three concerned boys barrelled through it.

"Way to break up the moment, guys." Emma scoffed.

Zane squinted in confusion. "What moment?"

Rikki rolled her eyes and hit him in the back of the head. "How did you know we were here, anyway?"

"I called them," Bella said, thumping down the stairs.

"Right." Emma said and flopped down on the couch next to Cleo.

The four girls exchanged looks.

"Are you gonna tell them, or shall I?"

* * *

After Ash heard the news, he practically wouldn't let go of Emma.

"Geez, I knew we shouldn't have told them." Emma groaned.

"Don't pretend you don't like it," Bella teased.

Emma rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the blonde. "Oh, grow up."

"Coming from the girl sticking her tongue out?" Rikki asked with raised eyebrows. "What a world we live in."

"You want me to freeze your feet to the floor? Cause I ain't afraid to do it." Emma dared.

"You're all talk," Rikki replied airily, like Emma was no big deal.

Cleo smiled. They were back to their usual bickering again. Whatever conflict they had, it was resolved now.

"Okay," Bella's light voice cut through Cleo's thoughts, and another one of Emma and Rikki's arguments. "I know what happened last night really shook everyone up, and honestly, Emma, it's better that you don't remember it," She shot a smile at Emma, "And _I_, personally, would _love_ a swim right about now."

A cheer erupted from the crowded room.

"That good?" Bella asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's a great idea, Bella," Emma said, wrapping an arm around Bella's shoulders. "You're a _genius,_"

"Thank you, thank you," Bella said, taking a bow. Everyone laughed.

"I'm going to get changed into my swim gear!" Rikki yelled and departed from the room.

"Me too!" Cleo chased after her, eager to get into the water. Bella smiled after her excited friends and followed them up the steps.

"Ash, let go of me for a second," Emma said gently, removing her boyfriend's hand from her arm. "I'm going to go get changed." She said deliberately and slowly walked up the stairs, so he absolutely had no doubts of where she was and wouldn't freak out.

Will walked up to Ash, trying to hide a grin. "You're paranoid, you realise that?"

Ash glared at him. "Shut up. My girlfriend nearly died last night. How would you feel if Bella went tumbling off a cliff?"

Will paled a little and took a step back.

Zane frowned at them from across the room. "I know you're still really edgy," He stood up and stopped in front of Ash. "But I've known Emma a long time, and she doesn't like it when people suffocate her."

Ash looked down at the floor. "Okay." His eyes flicked to Zane's. "Thanks."

Zane nodded at him and sat back down.

"We're back!" Rikki sang cheerily as she thumped down the stairs, twirling around on the last step.

"You're such a girly-girl." Emma scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Rikki narrowed her eyes and Emma let out a yelp as a fire broke out on the patch of carpet next to her feet.

"Put it out! Put it out!" Cleo whimpered, shying away from the bright flame.

Rikki raised an eyebrow at Emma. "Take it back."

"Put the fire out first!"

"Take it back."

Cleo rolled her eyes and summoned some water from the kitchen sink to put out the flame.

Rikki glared at Emma, her stance clearly saying _try me._

Bella rolled her eyes. "Okay, we get it. Girly-girls don't commit arson."

Rikki smirked and jumped down from the last stair. "Thank you."

She walked over to Zane and kissed him on the cheek.

"Okay, we're going to go now. Bye." She said quickly, walking toward the door.

"Hey! Wait a second!" Emma called after her, shaking her head. "Man you're impatient."

"You'd better believe it."

Emma rolled her eyes and walked up behind her. "Bye guys!" She sang, and was out of the door faster than Rikki.

"Hypocrite much." Rikki muttered as she chased after her.

Cleo shook her head after the two blondes. "Will they ever stop?" She turned to the boys. "We'll be going now." She breezed out the door, leaving it open for Bella.

Bella walked up to Will and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She ran to the door. "Bye!"

* * *

Emma pulled herself out of the surf and ran her fingers through her wet hair.

"This was such a great idea, Bella." Cleo sighed happily.

"Yeah, you're the best." Rikki piped up, and began drying everyone.

The boys were waiting for them a little further up the beach, with a picnic that caused a sardonic raise of eyebrows.

"And what's this?" Rikki said in a teasing voice, shoving Zane so hard he almost toppled into the sand.

Zane grimaced and rubbed his sore arm. "Just a little something we put together while you girls were swimming."

Rikki snorted. "Don't even attempt to be subtle. You're horrible at it."

Zane laughed and pulled Rikki into his arms.

Later, everyone was sitting on the picnic cloth and talking in loud, laughing voices.

"Rikki, how's that new smoothie going at the café?" Emma asked while Rikki stared dreamily out at the sunset.

"Tragically," Rikki said, her eyebrows furrowing as her head shook.

"Oh really? What exactly is wrong with it?" Bella piped in, curious.

Rikki made a bitter face. "Zane keeps putting too much mint in and I always forget the recipe," She admitted, sighing as though some great calamity had befallen her.

"I told you not to go through with it!" Emma teased. "You guys aren't patient enough to deal with recipes that difficult. And Rikki, your memory is downright horrendous!"

Rikki's eyebrows rose. "Is that so?" She said, standing and turning so she was facing the waves.

"Uh – Rikki?" Emma asked after her friend remained eerily silent.

"Em, come here a second?" Rikki asked.

"Sure..." Emma said cautiously and got up off the sand.

She was halfway to her friend when she was suddenly soaked head to toe with water.

"_Rikki!_" She screamed as Ash rushed to catch her.

Rikki giggled, her figure illuminated by the fading sun as she ran into the ankle deep water and dove.


	30. Chapter 30: Wise Man

Cleo walked along the beach, hands in her pockets, enjoying the breeze threading through her hair. She loved days like these, where the beaches were deserted and she could have the waves and the sand all to herself.

She stared out at the water, humming softly to herself.

"Hey Cleo!" A holler to the right of her made Cleo turn.

"What are you doing out here?" Emma asked as she slowed to a gradual halt, grinning brightly.

"I came out here about... I dunno... two hours ago, maybe less." Cleo answered.

"Ah," Emma said, turning and looking at the water. "I get it. I'd be out here too, on a day like this."

Cleo murmured a sound of agreement. "What are you doing out here so early? If it's not to enjoy the waves?"

Emma turned back to her, grinning. "Since my family got back, my mother has been insisting that I keep up with my morning jogs."

Cleo smiled. "Didn't you figure this would happen as soon as they set foot on land?"

"Yes, but I thought she'd at least give me a few weeks because of 'traumatic experiences'. Nope."

Cleo laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "That sounds like your mother."

Emma rolled her eyes. "You bet."

Cleo turned out to the waves and put her hands on her pockets, teetering on her feet. She cast Emma a sideways glance. "Do you want to go for a swim? It's exercise, and what your mother doesn't know won't kill her."

"Ignorance is bliss, huh?" Emma grinned.

"Yup."

Emma glanced at her watch and turned around. "Oh geez, sorry Cleo. Rikki wants me at the café about now." She started jogging away. She turned around, running backwards and waving. "If my memory serves me right, she wanted you there too!" She yelled, and then she disappeared out of view.

Cleo breathed in the salty air and simply stood there for moment. _I've been out here long enough_. She thought, turning. _I should probably be heading the same way as Emma._

So she set off for Rikki's, leaving the salty air and crashing waves behind her.

She walked through the beaded curtain, giving a hello to Rikki and sitting down.

"Where's all the customers?" She asked, looking around.

"Café's closed for the day," Zane called across the room.

"Why?"

"Because I said so." Rikki said firmly.

"One of the many perks of running a café," Emma walked over to them and sat in the chair next to Cleo. "You can close down whenever you want."

Cleo raised an eyebrow at the blond across from her. "I hardly think your responsible freakiness would have allowed this."

Emma shrugged. "They talked me into it."

"What excuse did you use on the customers?"

"Sealing a leak."

"Ah."

Cleo strummed her fingers on the table and looked around. "And _why_ have you closed the café?" She asked.

Rikki shrugged. "Just thought it would be nice to have the place to ourselves for a bit."

"And where's Bella?"

"Swimming, I presume."

Cleo sighed and leant back in her chair, squeezing her eyes shut.

_"Hey," Lewis bounded up to her, grinning. "How are you?"__  
_  
_Cleo smiled back at him and flicked her plaits behind her. "I'm good," She answered. "You?"__  
_  
_He shrugged, his hands in his pockets. "Can't complain."__  
_  
_Cleo smiled subtly at him and her gaze wandered to the majestic island on the horizon. "Hey, you wanna swim out to Mako?"__  
_  
_Lewis exhaled noisily, causing Cleo to raise an eyebrow and turn to him. "Sorry, I'm with Charlotte today."__  
_  
_Cleo's nose crinkled up as she heard the unfavourable name. "Alright, a juice then?"__  
_  
_Lewis rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, no thanks."__  
_  
_Cleo swallowed her disappointment. "Oh, okay. Okay then."__  
_  
Cleo felt a soft hand pressed to her forehead. Her eyes shot open.

"Cleo, are you okay?" Emma was crouched before her, looking concerned.

"I'm fine; why?"

Emma frowned. "You went pale all of a sudden."

Cleo shook her head and got up. "Don't worry, Emma. Everything's fine."

"Okay, if you say so."

Bella came running in at that moment, trying to keep her bag from falling onto the ground. She doubled over, panting. "What – was so – important?" She gasped, straightening. "You left six texts on my phone!"

Emma walked over to her and relived her of the heavy bag she was carrying. "Let me guess – swimming?" She laughed as she slung the bag over her shoulder.

"No; I spent some time with Will."

The other three girls exchanged looks and grinned.

"What?"

Emma laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Bella looked confused for a moment, but kept smiling. "Alright then."

"So, what are we doing today?" Cleo asked, leaning against the table with her hands in her pockets.

Rikki shrugged nonchalantly. "Stuff."

"Sounds _fascinating,_"

* * *

Cleo rubbed her temples and sighed as Rikki and Emma found another thing to argue about. She felt a little light headed, and so she had gone to sit down and watch Emma and Rikki feud, Zane not dare to play peacekeeper, and Bella fiddle with her phone, most likely holding up a conversation with Will.

Cleo sighed, the throbbing in her head intensifying. She wanted to get out of here, but she figured it was best to stay put. Rikki had closed the café so they could all spend a day together, after all.

But she could just leave for a second, escape the yelling... no. She should stay. But her head hurt, and the shouting didn't help, and a swim _would_ make it so much better...

"I'm just gonna head out for a while, okay?" Cleo announced, getting up and heading for the beaded entrance before she could even register that the yelling hadn't stopped.

She escaped into the open air, and took a deep breath in. She felt better already. She jogged to the water but just before she jumped, her mind backtracked. _Lewis._

She let out a long breath and rubbed her temples again. Just the thought of him made her head hurt more, yet she oddly felt relief at the same time. Her stomach swirled and her heart pounded as she thought of his smile and his soft voice.

She swallowed, trying to get the subject out of her mind, but then a new name came to her.

_Max._

She hadn't seen the man in almost a year. She hadn't thought about him in almost as long. Taking a deep breath, she strutted to the water, and dove.

* * *

She wandered down the beach and listened to the crashing waves at her right. A shack-like structure came into view, and Cleo started running.

She came up to the old house, which had nets and other fishing gear displayed outside. She walked up the stairs and acknowledged as they creaked under her weight, and knocked on the old door at the front of the hut.

When she got no answer, she knocked again. Still nothing. She peered inside. She couldn't see any signs of anybody in the little house, so she backtracked back down to the sand and thought about her next course of action.

A little while away, she saw a man down by the edge of the waves. _Fishing line. Fishing hat. Could that be Max?_ She thought.

She ran down the sand, and slowed as she approached the man. He didn't seem to hear her soft footsteps. She peered into the bucket resting on the sand a few feet from this person's form. _Full bucket. It's him._

"Max?"

The man turned. "That's my name – Cleo?"

Cleo waved shyly. "Hi Max."

Max set reeled in his line and set his rod on the sand. "Cleo! It's good to see you again!" He said with his usual enigmatic smile.

"It's good to see you too." Cleo replied.

Max frowned slightly. "Come back to my hut. You can tell me what's bothering you."

Cleo didn't know how he knew anything about her worries, but she didn't object as the smiling man led her back to his messy but cozy little house.

He sat Cleo down on one of his small couches, and sat across from her. "Now, what's wrong?"

Cleo buried her face in her hands. "Lewis." She murmured unhappily.

"What has he done to upset you now?"

Cleo looked up at him and attempted a smile. "He left a while ago."

"I know."

Cleo straightened up and stared at him. "You do?"

He nodded.

"So you know we got back together, then."

"Yes. He was like a happy little puppy."

Cleo laughed.

"So, what's got you so upset?"

"Well..." Cleo paused. "There's kind of... a list."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Go on,"

"First, he stopped talking to me for a month."

Max's eyebrows rose further.

"And when I tried to phone him, I got a female voice on the end of the line."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah. That's what I thought. And I ended up forgiving him. But, what I didn't know, was that he'd come back into the country without telling me."

"That's... not good. Surely he just forgot?"

"He had come back before I forgave him. Before we even had the fight, I think. And I also phoned him a while ago, telling him to meet up with me. He still hasn't replied."

"Oh... I'm sorry, Cleo." Max said sympathetically.

Cleo nodded and looked at her hands.

"But I can hardly see Lewis doing something like that."

Cleo looked up at him. "I know. Me neither."

"Are you sure he doesn't just have a lot of reasons, and if you tried calling him again, everything would be fine?"

"Come on, Max." Cleo moaned, dropping her head into her hands again. "Rikki thinks he has an evil side."

Max chuckled. "I can imagine her saying that."

Cleo managed a laugh. Her face suddenly became serious. "Can't you give me some advice?"

"Well, in my opinion –"

Max's sentence was cut off by Cleo's wince. She rubbed her forehead, groaning softly. _Stupid brain!_ _Can't you just stop hurting for one minute?_

"Cleo, are you quite alright?"

She nodded, biting her lip. "Yeah, I'm fine. Go on."

Max stood up and went to crouch in front of Cleo. "No, you're not. How about we take a trip to the moon pool?"

"How will that help?"

Max shrugged. "It always seemed to help Gracie, and I have a feeling it'll help you too."

So Max and Cleo set off for Mako Island, specifically the moon pool, Max riding in his boat and Cleo swimming lazily beside him.

Cleo heaved herself up onto the rock of the moon pool, and retrieved a towel out of a crevice. She always forgot it was there. She quickly dried off, only pausing to yell at her brain, which in the end only made it hurt more.

She heard the sound of tumbling rocks, and soon footsteps, and then Max was walking into the cave.

"So, what were you saying?" She asked, sitting on a piece of rock, her head resting on her knees, which were tucked up to her chest.

"What I was saying was, is that I have never seen anyone more head over heels than what Lewis is for you. You should give him another chance."

Cleo sighed, thinking. "But how am I supposed to do that when I don't even know where he is?"

"He has regular fishing spots, doesn't he?"

"Yes..." Cleo said, confused.

"Well, that boy would go insane if he couldn't fish." Max stood up, brushing off his knees. "Maybe you should try there first."

Cleo nodded silently. _Why didn't I think of that?_

"And Cleo," Max looked at her seriously. "I haven't seen anyone more devoted than Lewis."

He walked to the entrance of the cave and turned. "I actually don't think it's possible for someone to be more in love with another person."

And with that, he left, leaving Cleo to think over more than a few things.

* * *

"Cleo!" Rikki sang as she bounded up to her. She stopped just before she could smack into Cleo. "How are you?"

"Erm – fine."

"You up for a swim?"

"Not right now."

"Aww, why not?" The blond whined. "I'll go easy on you!"

"I thought this was a swim, not a race?"

"It can be either if you'll go with me!"

Cleo laughed and looked out to sea. "No thanks, Rikki. I just feel like walking for a bit."

Rikki pouted. "Okay." She said and sulked away, before Cleo heard a familiar splash. She laughed.

Cleo walked along the beach, watching as the last of the glimmers of Rikki's orange tail disappeared over the horizon.

She put her hands in her pockets and sighed. She had a lot to think about.

She loved Lewis, but one, she didn't know how to get in touch with him. Two, he had lied to her. Three, he had let her be without his smiling face for a month and a half. That was the thing Cleo found the hardest to forgive. She swallowed tears.

Despite Max's reassurances, she thought, that maybe, she and Lewis just weren't meant to be.

* * *

Late that night, in Max's shack, as the old man was sitting on a couch, reading about magnetic forces by an old dim lamp, there was a knock on the door.

Max frowned and got up from his seat. _That's odd. No one should be here at this hour. _He walked to the door and opened it. He saw no one there.

"Hello?" He called out. He frowned again. "Strange..." The old man muttered to himself.

He stepped out to yell again, when he heard the distinct sound of paper crackling underfoot. He stopped.

He stepped back and crouched down, squinting in the darkness. There was a piece of paper on his doorstep. He picked it up and looked at it curiously.

And even in the black night, he could make out words on the note. But it was only one sentence repeated dozens of times over.

_Tell her I'm sorry._


	31. Chapter 31: One Secret Revealed

**Hey guys! How is everything? This chapter is... it has a sort of revelation in it, but it's not _really _anything anyone didn't know before. The earlier bits are just little fluffy bits, and not actually crucial to the storyline, but _everyone_ loves Zikki and Wella! If not, then I'm sorry to say this, but you've had a tremendous lapse in judgement by choosing to read my stories...**

* * *

"_I was happy, and my heart is broken..._"

Bella sang earnestly into the microphone until she spotted Will at the end of the café. She quickly hopped off the stage, cutting the song short.

"Will!" She yelled, waving. He soon spotted her and smiled.

"Afternoon." He laughed. His eyes rose to the stage, and he raised an eyebrow. "Did you stop your song just for me?"

"Not just for you," Bella pouted, refusing to give her boyfriend what he wanted. "I was feeling... uhh... lightheaded. Yeah."

He just laughed and shook his head. "Uh huh."

Bella rolled her eyes, but was soon smiling along with him. "Hey, you up for a drink?"

"Sure," He said. "My treat."

"I can pay for myself, you know." Bella stuck out her bottom lip indignantly, her arms folded.

"Well, I get to hear your wonderful voice up on stage all day, I think the least I can do is buy you a drink."

Bella blushed and allowed her boyfriend to pay for the two cranberry boosters.

The two sat at a table, and Bella looked around absently. "Hey, I wonder where Rikki is? I haven't seen her all day." She said.

"They're checking out the reefs again. You know, the ones we explored a while ago," Will answered.

"Oh, right." Bella nodded, and began to drink her smoothie.

When the two were finished, Bella got up with a sigh.

"I'd better be getting back up there." She said, smoothing out her top.

As she began to walk away, Will caught her wrist. She turned.

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

"Knock 'em dead." He smiled.

Bella smiled back and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before she happily skipped back up to the stage.

"Okay, here goes..." She muttered under her breath. She searched through the crowd and landed on Will's smiling face. She opened her mouth and the lyrics tumbled out.

_"It's just you and me, under the stars that shine so bright..."_

* * *

After her performance and a couple of juices with the newly returned Rikki and Cleo, Bella got a text from Will.

**Do you want to meet me at the beach?****  
****- Will****  
**  
Bella thought for a moment before replying.

**Sure.****  
****~ Bella**

Will had left earlier because Sophie had needed him for training, but Bella had stayed behind and chatted with her friends and sung for the next few hours. Bella skipped over to Rikki and Cleo, and they looked at her, putting whatever conversation they were having on pause.

"What's up?" Rikki asked nonchalantly.

"I'm gonna go meet Will at the beach. Just wanted to say bye." Bella replied.

"Sure. You go have fun with your _boyfriend._" Rikki grinned.

"Whatever." Bella rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag off the corner of the stage, giving one more goodbye before racing down to the beach. For a person who claimed to be rooting that she and Will got together, Rikki did tease her an awful lot.

Bella bounded across the hot sand, looking for the blonde head of hair she was expecting to be waiting for her.

"Over here!" Bella turned to see a grinning and waving Will. She smiled and ran up to him.

"Hey," She said, slightly breathless. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing much," He replied, shrugging. "How are you?"

Bella made a face. "Tired. My throat's raw from singing so much." She complained, but with a smile.

Will pouted sympathetically. "Poor Bella."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"Oh, no no no. I wouldn't dare. I'm too scared of you." Will grinned.

Bella laughed and shoved him playfully. "Ha ha. You're a riot." She mirrored his grin. "Now _that's_ sarcasm."

Will laughed and checked his watch. "Where do you want to hide?" He asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, let me rephrase that," Will laughed. "Where do you want to hide in order to avoid Sophie?"

"Ahh. Now I getcha." Bella nodded. She thought for moment. "She doesn't know where I live, right?"

"Unless she's been stalking you. And honestly, I wouldn't put it beneath her."

"Mako's pretty secluded." Bella suggested.

"Good idea. Mako's good." Will nodded approvingly.

"Or y'know, the school's deserted. Although I think lots of the teachers hang out there after hours..."

Will let out a groan. "Darn." He muttered.

"What is it?" Bella's eyes flitted to his.

"I left my chemistry book at school," He explained, cursing his stupidity. "And I need it for that project due the day after tomorrow."

"Ooh, that's bad..." Bella cringed. "Wait, we're working on that project together, right? Can't you just use my book?"

"Remember, the teacher said we have to write down everything in each of our books."

"Hmmm." Bella frowned. "That's not good."

"Yeah, I don't know what we can do..." Will groaned.

"Oh, for goodness sakes," Bella punched Will playfully in the shoulder. "Lets go to the school and get that book!"

"But it's closed?"

"Come on, Will! Where's your sense of adventure? Plus, the teacher's most likely there anyway." Bella shrugged, smiling.

Will looked down at his girlfriend and melted. "Oh, alright..." He said.

Bella beamed and grabbed his arm. "Lets go!"

The two raced to the school – which mostly consisted of Bella dragging Will – and peered into the windows of their chemistry class.

"I don't see any teacher in there," Will muttered. "Come on Bella, lets go."

"No no! Look, there's your book!" She said, pointing wildly to the empty desk with his blue chemistry book sitting neatly atop it. "Come on, it's right there! We have get it!" Bella whined, looking up at Will with big blue puppy dog eyes.

Will hesitated. "Well, alright..."

"Cool!" Bella cheered and scrambled over to the door. She tugged at it, but to her dismay, found it locked.

"It's locked," Will pointed out. "Now can we go?"

"Come on, do you want that book or not?" Bella demanded. "Get me some water."

"What?"

"Get me some water! Geez you're slow today, Will."

Will nodded quickly and raced to the water cooler. He grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water, before hurriedly running back to his girlfriend.

"Yes? Now why do you need water?" Will asked, confused.

"Just give it to me," Bella said, snatching the cup out of his hand.

Will watched curiously as Bella poured water on the locked keyhole.

"What are you doing?" Will questioned as Bella used her power on the keyhole, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration.

"Shut it, Will!" She hissed. A few moments later her eyes flew open, and her face spread into a happy smile.

"What did you do?" Will asked with interest.

Bella didn't answer but instead poked her fingers inside the keyhole, turning something inside it. A locked sound came from the door, and Bella beamed up at him. She pushed the door open with a victorious grin.

"What did you do?" Will whispered.

"Shut up and get your book!"

Will nodded and scrambled to the back of the room to where his desk had been that day. He grabbed his book and hurried back to Bella.

"So, we've got the book; are we going now?" Will asked nervously.

"Yup. Come on, lets go." Bella tugged at his arm and the two fled from the school.

"What did you do, anyway?" Will asked as they walked down the beach.

"I hardened the water in the keyhole. It acted as a key." Bella explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "When you've been a mermaid as long as I have, if you concentrate _really _hard, you can warp whichever water molecules you choose. That's what I did, turning the water into a key!" She said, sounding pleased.

"Smart." Will said approvingly.

"I know, right?"

* * *

Emma ran to the water, tears flowing from her blue eyes. With a choked sob she jumped in the water, Mako Island in mind.

She surfaced, wiping at her eyes. She rubbed the gritty sand of the moon pool between her fingers, sniffing. She leant her face on her arms and looked at the walls of the cave, not even bothering to wipe the tears away.

She traced varying patterns in the sand, shivering from her tears. Her head shot up in alarm and her eyes flitted to the cave entrance when she heard the familiar sounds of a person sliding down the hole at the moon pool's entrance.

"Ow!" A voice cried and footsteps could be heard, until Will's blonde head of hair emerged into the cavern.

"Will?" Emma propped herself up, wiping at her eyes and trying to compose herself. "What on earth are you doing here?" She demanded, but it came out as more of a whisper because of her tear-wracked voice.

"Oh, sorry Emma." He apologised. "I was just looking for Bella – hey, you're upset." He frowned.

_Great deduction there, Sherlock._ Emma thought sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and turned around, intending to swim out.

"Wait!"

Emma turned halfway, looking at Will with curious eyes.

"Tell me why you're upset?"

Emma frowned. She paused for a moment, then swam back to the ledge. Her eyes flitted up to his. "No."

Will sat down on the moon pool's sand and leant against the cavern wall. "Why not?"

"Do you really need a reason?"

Will closed his eyes, sighing. "Fine. I'll just wait here for Bella."

Emma raised an eyebrow at him, but stayed where she was. She gritted her teeth after he continued to say nothing. She just couldn't stand silence. _Okay, it seems I've underestimated you._ She thought.

Will's eyes opened and he examined Emma.

"What are you looking at?" Emma said aggressively.

"You should tell someone what's bothering you, Emma." He commented.

Emma snorted. "Right."

Will laughed. Emma looked up at him, confused. _Why is he laughing? Is he laughing at me?_

"You can be very complicated when you want to be, Emma." He said. She didn't like how he kept using her name after his sentences, deliberately and patronising.

"Uh huh." She said, trying her best to block out her frustrations to him.

Will sat back against the rock, leaving Emma with her swirling thoughts again.

_Maybe I should just leave..._

* * *

"Boo!" Rikki popped up next to Zane, clinging to the sides of the Zodiac.

Zane jumped back with a yelp. He took a few deep breaths and opened his eyes. "Rikki?"

"Yup." Rikki said proudly. "You were just scared by a girl."

"Was not!"

Rikki scoffed. "Yeah. Right."

Zane rolled his eyes and peered down at the mermaid inquisitively. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I saw your boat on the top of the water and thought I'd scare you."

"Rikki," Zane frowned. "That could have been anyone's boat. You should be more careful." He chastised.

"Ha! Look who's being all responsible!"

"I mean it, Rikki!"

Rikki pouted. "You're a meanie."

"Yes. And immaturity is a feature that doesn't strike me as one you own." Zane said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Rikki glared, "That's not funny!"

"I thought it was pretty..." Zane stopped when he saw the thunderous look on Rikki's face. He knew that if he went on there was a good chance that she'd burn the boat into the water. "Never mind."

"Good." Rikki smiled happily.

"What are you looking at me like that for?"

Rikki raised an eyebrow. "Don't look so smug. I'm looking at the dolphins behind you."

Zane turned around, looking for said dolphins. He frowned. "What dolphins?" He asked, turning back around. He laughed. Rikki was gone.

Zane smiled and leant back in the boat, putting his hat over his eyes and relaxing to the rhythm of the ocean.

A pale hand shot out of the water and grabbed Zane by the shirt. He toppled out of the boat.

* * *

Emma's blonde head of hair appeared on the top of the water, and Will looked up.

"You still here?" He asked jokingly.

"This is _my_ moon pool." She replied.

"Yeah, yeah. If anything I should be the one kicked out." Will said.

"Yes; exactly."

He rolled his eyes and picked up a handful of sand.

"When is Bella getting here?" Emma asked curiously.

Will looked up. "Why?"

"Because you're annoying me." Emma replied nonchalantly.

Will raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. She was supposed to be here a while ago."

Emma sighed and swam to the exit._ I guess I can just go home to think..._

"Could you wait a second?" Will called.

Emma turned, rolling her eyes. "What is it now?"

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me what's wrong?"

"No; not really."

"I'll keep annoying you till you do." Will pointed out.

Emma sighed unhappily and swam up to the ledge. "Fine, you really wanna know?" She asked.

"Obviously."

Emma crossed her arms over her front. "I had a fight with my boyfriend," She sniffed. "You happy?" She looked up at Will, her eyes shining with tears.

"I'm sorry. What did you fight about?"

"It's none of your business," Emma snapped. She looked up at Will apologetically. "I'm sorry." She said.

"It's fine," He replied. He swallowed uncomfortably. _I probably should tell someone._ He thought. _Yes. I should. _He looked around, as if someone could be listening to their conversation.

"You know..."

Emma looked up. "What?"

"Well... I've been having these..." Will swallowed, shaking his head.

"What, Will? Come on, I told you about what happened with Ash – it's your turn to share a secret." Emma said jokingly.

"Well... you see... I've had these dreams..."

"Dreams?" Emma repeated.

"Bella was in one of them..." Will explained.

"That's sweet, though. It's probably just because you're a young couple." Emma mused.

"She died."

Emma swallowed, her eyes widened. "Well... that's... blunt..." She mumbled.

"I mean, am I going crazy?" Will rambled on. "I've had different weird dreams too. They aren't every night, and Bella's only ever died once..."

"Will,"

"There were these girls. I didn't even know them!"

"Will!"

"You guys were there, when you were younger, and it was just all so weird..."

"Will, _calm down!_" Emma yelled.

Will shut his mouth accordingly.

"Now explain it again. _Slowly._" Emma said gently.

"Well, the first time was just after I kissed Bella the first time..." Will explained.

"Uh huh..."

"We were in Mako, and I was with Bella. She kept saying we were going to be late for something..." He continued.

"Okay... go on,"

"She said 'they're going to be so mad'. When we got to the beach, you guys were there. But I hadn't met you yet, so I had no idea who you were."

At this, Emma's looked a little stunned.

"There was this weird fire..."

"Okay," Emma said, "Keep going."

"Bella said we were there for the death of the mermaids. And then she fell to the ground, and this weird blue light shot out of her crystal necklace. That's when I woke up." Will finished.

Emma took a moment to process all of this new information. "Wait... blue light?" She asked.

"Yeah. It was kind of like what happened when the three crystals touched." Will shrugged.

"Wait, you mean like the blue light on Mako Island? The one that... I'm a little unsure of all the details... but Cleo said that it happened when the crystals touched moon pool water simultaneously. You mean like that?" Emma asked.

"I wouldn't know." Will replied.

"Okay." Emma said, frowning in thought. "You said you had more than one of these dreams. What was the other one?"

"Well, there were these three girls. I think their names were..." Will scrambled to think. "Gracie, Julia, and Louise."

Emma stared at him, open mouthed. Her face had gone pale.

"What? What's wrong?" Will asked, confused.

"G-Gracie, Louise, and Julia?" Emma stammered.

"Yeah..." Will said confusedly. "What's wrong, Emma? You're shaking."

"This is impossible, this is impossible, this is impossible..." Emma muttered under her breath. She had started doing laps of the pool, reminding Will very much of how a human paced.

"What's wrong, Emma?" Will asked curiously. "What's got you so frantic?"

Emma looked up at Will. "Those were the names of the original mermaids. Cleo, Rikki and I have never mentioned them to you!"

Now it was Will's turn to be shocked. He hadn't thought his dreams were anything more than freaky coincidences. "But that's impossible!" He cried. "Perhaps one of you guys mentioned them to me. Are you sure about this?" He asked, though _he_ was sure he had never heard those names before in his life.

"I'm sure! We swore never to tell anyone – we always said it wasn't our secret to let out. We were determined not to tell anyone, not even you guys!" She said frantically.

Will squeezed his eyes shut and said in a quiet voice, "How is this possible?"

Emma shrugged jerkily. She had seemed to calm down. "I guess with magic, anything is possible."

"Magic? You think my dreams are magical?" Will asked disbelievingly.

"Do you have any other explanations?" Emma asked fiercely.

"No... not really..." Will said, shaking his head.

"Okay. You need to tell me what happened in this second dream." Emma instructed.

Will swallowed. Now that he knew they weren't just dreams, he wasn't sure he wanted to say anything else. But he knew he had to. "Okay..."

Emma looked up at him with expectant eyes.

"Well, there was Gracie, Julia, and Louise, and they were fighting. Julia stormed off and –"

"Miss Chatham always said she was the hot tempered one..." Emma muttered under her breath. "Sorry. Go on."

"Then everything went blurry and the girls weren't there anymore. Instead it was you guys," Emma's eyebrows raised. "You looked really young, I think Rikki mentioned you being fifteen. Bella wasn't there. Rikki said she couldn't 'do it anymore' and started running off. You guys wanted her to wait, but she got angry and yelled at you. She said..."

Will thought for a moment. "She said 'we're fifteen, mermaids, and our lives are falling at our feet'. You said for her to be quiet and not say she was a mermaid out loud when people were around, but she yelled at you and screamed to the air that she was a mermaid. The she ran away." Will finished.

For the third time that day, Emma was staring at him, open mouthed with shock.

"What is it now?" Will questioned.

Emma blinked a few times and refocused on him. "Will..." Her voice came out in a solemn whisper. "That wasn't a dream. That event you just described... Will, that happened."

Will stared at her, dumbfounded. "But it can't be! I thought Rikki was always the one to embrace the secret?"

"Even Rikki has her bad days, Will."

Will shook his head, his mind swirling. This was all too much. "But, what does that mean for the least one? The last event? Does that mean that one's real too?"

"I don't know. Explain it to me and we'll see." Emma said gently. She knew this must be quite a shock.

Will tried to slow his whirring brain. "Okay... the last one was..." He squeezed his eyes shut and tried his hardest to focus. "Darn it, I can't remember now! I'm sorry, Emma."

Emma nodded slowly. "It's okay."

She took a deep breath. "Regardless, I think we have a problem..."

At that moment, Bella surfaced in the moon pool.

"Hey guys!" She said. She frowned slightly. "Hey, why the long faces?"

* * *

**I thought it might be nice to have at least a kind of funny ending. So, what _is _with Will's dreams? Does the blue light the girls have been experiencing tie into them somehow? You'll find this all out later, but bye for now!**

**P.S: The spat between Emma and Ash in this chapter was not a reflection of how I view them as a couple. I just needed something to drive Emma to Mako Island in tears, and that seemed the most logical explanation. _Emmash Forever!_**


	32. Chapter 32: A Knock At The Door

Tears flowed out of Cleo's hazel green eyes. She didn't even bother to stop them anymore.

"Cleo? Cle... oh." Rikki came into her bedroom and sat down next to her on the floor. She put an arm around her. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"It's nothing," Cleo replied, shaking her head. "I'm just being silly."

"No, I'm sure you're not," Rikki soothed. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"No, really, I'm fine," Cleo forced a smile. "Let's go to the café."

Rikki watched hesitantly as Cleo stood up and headed for the door. "You coming?"

"Yeah..." Rikki sighed and waded after her. _I guess she'll tell me when she's ready._

Rikki followed Cleo out the door, and took note of how quiet she was as they made their way over to the café. Rikki frowned as she entered the familiar building.

"What'll it be, Cleo?" She asked her friend.

"Hmm?" Cleo turned to her, shaking head. "Oh, right. Berry bonanza please."

"Sure thing." Rikki replied, and, try as she might, could just not wipe the frown off her face.

Rikki made Cleo's drink in record time, sliding it over the counter to her friend. Cleo didn't notice it until it was about to tip all over her, but luckily she caught it at the last second.

"Thanks Rikki."

Rikki nodded distractedly and went over to the blender to make her own drink. She was so distracted with Cleo's odd behaviour that she accidentally put four teaspoons of pepper in her smoothie.

"Urrggh!" She screamed, spitting the foul liquid back into her smoothie cup.

"Everything okay?" Rikki looked to the side to see Cleo looking at her curiously.

"Yeah, I just put huge amounts of pepper in my smoothie..." Rikki muttered.

"Oh, cool."

"What?" Rikki's head whipped to the side. Right. Cleo was out of it again.

Rikki muttered something under her breath and tugged gloves on, washing the smoothie cup before attempting to prepare another one.

Rikki sat on the stool next to Cleo, sipping her second-time-lucky smoothie.

"Cleo? Cleo?" Rikki snapped her fingers in front of the brunette's face, getting a little fed up with her friend's distractedness. _Then again, she was really upset earlier. But still, I wonder what she's so het up about?_

"What's up with Cleo?" A whisper came from her left. Rikki whirled around.

"Whoa. You startled me." Rikki gasped, facing Zane.

"Anyway," Zane nudged her. "Why's she so upset?"

Rikki stared at Cleo for a moment. "No idea."

* * *

"Oh no!" Rikki cried and shot up from the desk. She raced out of the café. Zane quickly apologised to a customer and dashed after her.

"Rikki! Why are you running?" He called, gasping for air.

"I know why Cleo was upset!" She exclaimed, "Man I'm an idiot!"

"Calm down. Tell me what's happening." Zane said gently.

"Today's the anniversary of Cleo and Lewis's relationship!" Rikki cried, still running.

"That is bad." Zane said in agreement. "What are you gonna do?"

"Try and cheer her up as best I can," Rikki said before racing off faster than Zane could ever catch up to her.

Rikki flew through the streets, searching for her despairing friend. _She's not at home. She's not at Bella's. She wasn't at the café. Mako Island? Maybe!_ Rikki thought frantically and dove into the first patch of water large enough for her to do so.

She sliced through the water, her curly blonde hair going from dry to wet in an instant. She powered through the blue liquid as fast as she could. Usually she would have taken at least a few seconds to admire the coral and fish, or feel the thrill of racing through the water at such speed, but right now all she had in her mind was finding Cleo.

She surfaced in the moon pool, taking in a breath even though she didn't need it.

"Cleo?" She said, looking around. She frowned and called again. _Maybe she's just hiding somewhere. I was sure she'd be here!_

"Cleo!"

Rikki listened earnestly for doorsteps or the splash of water, or any abnormality in the slightest.

_What? Cleo's not here? But she always comes here when she's upset! And here I was thinking she's predictable... _Rikki shook her head an ducked back under the water.

_Just because Cleo's not at Mako Island doesn't mean the search is over. I have a friend to console._

She sped back to mainland, her mind racing with where else the unhappy brunette could be. _Hmmm. The docks? She and Lewis used to hang out there all the time. Yeah, she might be there!_

Rikki changed direction and headed for the docks, hoping Cleo was there.

She surfaced on the top of the water. She listened earnestly, and heard one of the many busy figures atop the docks mention the time. _It's about twelve. The docks are pretty busy about now. I can't just swim up here as a mermaid, anyone could see me! _Rikki turned in the other direction and sped off to the closest secluded piece of land to go get dried off.

She held out her hand in front of her and curled her fingers, sending plumes of steam wafting up from her tail. She scrambled up the steep hill of sand and raced back to the docks.

Through the hoards of fishermen, Rikki tried to spot Cleo._ If she's even here,_ she thought begrudgingly. She raced up to the edge of the docks, scanning the area. _Cleo always liked to sit at the end and swing her legs off the side,_ Rikki thought. _Maybe that's what she's doing?_

Rikki searched up and down the docks for the next fifteen minutes. She eventually gave up, trudging back to the water and diving in.

* * *

Cleo sat on a large rock that jutted out over the water, swinging her legs off the end. She sighed. She played with her crystal necklace, frowning at her reflection.

She contemplated reaching a foot into the water, just for a distraction, but came to the conclusion that it was a horrible idea because she'd most likely slide off the rock and land face first in the shallow pool, tail and all.

She found her hands fiddling on her lap as she thought of Lewis. Again. She let out a breath of frustration and unclasped her crystal necklace, turning it over in her hands. It glinted in the sunlight. Cleo found she was captivated by the light shining from the stone and bouncing off the rock around her. She shook her head and quickly stuffed the crystal in her pocket.

Cleo's phone beeped in her pocket and she hesitantly retrieved it.

**Where are you?****  
****~ Rikki****  
**  
Cleo thought for a second. She carefully replied.

**Why?****  
****~ Cleo**Rikki grinned sheepishly at the screen of her iPhone. _I guess I should have asked that before I ran all over town looking for her...__  
_  
**Because I want to know.****  
****~ Rikki**

Cleo frowned at the screen and tapped in a reply.

**Why do you want to know?****  
****~ Cleo**

Rikki rolled her eyes. _Cleo_ _obviously doesn't want to be found. Maybe I should leave her be._ She thought. _Nah, she's in a desperate need of cheering up._

**Because you're my friend. You tell me things, no questions asked. Thats just how friendship works.****  
****~ Rikki**

Cleo raised her eyebrows at this comment.

**Isn't 'where are you?' in itself a question?****  
****~ Cleo**

Rikki rolled her eyes. _There's no way you're dodging this one, Cleo._

**You're missing the point.****  
****~ Rikki**

Cleo laughed a little. She tapped in a reply.

**Enlighten me.****  
****~ Cleo**

Rikki sighed, tugging at a strand of her curly blonde hair. _This is getting tiresome._

**Tell me where you are, Cleo.****  
****~ Rikki**

**No.****  
****~ Cleo**

Cleo tapped in the reply and leant back against the rock, swinging her legs. Her phone beeped, and Cleo looked at the screen in search of Rikki's text.  
**  
****I know what day it is, Cleo.****  
****~ Rikki**

Cleo swallowed the lump that had risen to her throat. She shakily replied.

**And what day is that?****  
****~ Cleo**

**Don't make me spell it out.****  
****~ Rikki**

Cleo sighed and huddled up against the rock.

**Okay. You win.****  
****~ Cleo**

Rikki smiled tiredly. She had spent a while worrying about Cleo, and this argument had only tired her out further.

**Tell me where you are.****  
****~ Rikki**

Cleo closed her eyes and just sat there for a moment. When they opened again, what she wanted to say to Rikki was ready in her mind.

**Okay, I will. But if I do, will you stay away? Will you leave me alone?****  
****~ Cleo**

Rikki glared softly at Cleo's reply. _I_ _didn't spend the last hour walking through town and looking for her just so I could give up!_

**I'll give you fifteen minutes by yourself.****  
****~ Rikki**

Cleo frowned. _That's not good enough, _she thought.

**An hour and a half.****  
****~ Cleo**

Rikki's eyes widened slightly at the screen. _Even I didn't expect Cleo to be this stubborn._

**Twenty minutes.****  
****~ Rikki**

**An hour.****  
****~ Cleo**  
**  
****Twenty five minutes.****  
****~ Rikki**

**Forty five minutes.****  
****~ Cleo****  
**  
Rikki scowled. _Why is she being so stubborn? I only want to help her!_

**Thirty minutes.****  
****~ Rikki**

**Stop readjusting it by fives!****  
****~ Cleo**

Rikki rolled her eyes and typed in her reply.

**Thirty minutes.****  
****~ Rikki**

**You said that already. But no. Forty minutes. That's my final offer.****  
****~ Cleo**

Rikki thought about this for a moment. _Seems acceptable._

**Okay. You have a deal.****  
****~ Rikki**

Cleo smiled happily. _I won!_ She thought gleefully.

**Alright. I'm at the beach.****  
****~ Cleo**

Rikki groaned, exasperated. _Ugh! Cleo!_

**I already checked the beach!****  
****~ Rikki**

Cleo smiled. _I knew she'd never find me._

**I'm in a clearing off to the far left and down a bit. It's very well hidden. You'll have to look for a while.****  
****~ Cleo****  
**  
Rikki thought for a moment.

**Okay. I'll see you in a bit.****  
****~ Rikki****  
**  
Cleo didn't bother responding. Instead, she turned her phone off, pocketed it, and watched the way the sunlight gleamed on the surface of the water.

* * *

Rikki looked at her watch. _Right. It's been long enough_. She grabbed her bag off the desk and quickly finished up the paperwork she was doing for the café. She jogged outside, looking around casually. _Cleo said it would take a while find her. So that's, what, fifteen minutes? If so, that'll fit perfectly._

Rikki ran as fast as she could to the beach, trying to spot the hidden away clearing Cleo had mentioned. _She said it was to the left, right?_ Now Rikki was starting to doubt her judgement. _Yeah, the left, and down... I think..._

Rikki traced around the edges of the beach, and was leaning on a cave wall covered with moss for a break, when it gave way. Rikki screamed as she fell backwards into a little clearing.

"Rikki! You're here!" Cleo laughed from where she perched on her rock.

Rikki rubbed at her head and groaned while she stood. "You could've warned me better," She said.

Cleo leaned over her, grinning despite how dismal she felt. "I didn't think it was so bad."

"Yes, but remember; you're not human." Rikki teased.

"You aren't either, you idiot." Cleo said, rolling her eyes and giving Rikki a shove.

"See? That got you to smile!" Rikki said, pulling her friend into a side hug.

"Yeah, I guess it did."

Rikki took a step back to smile at her friend, but then noticed something odd. She squinted, confused. "Hey, where's your necklace?"

"Oh," Cleo said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the blue crystal. "I forgot to put it back on."

She handed it to Rikki and the blonde refastened it around Cleo's neck.

"Thanks." Cleo said, walking away from Rikki to go sit back up on the rocks.

Rikki followed her, hopping up onto the rock beside the brunette and dangling her legs off the edge. "So... what's up?"

Cleo snorted in response.

Rikki frowned slightly and wrapped an arm around her friend. "Hey, it'll be okay."

"How do you know that?" Cleo asked, tears starting to build up and fall.

Rikki leant her head against Cleo's and sighed. "I just do. Trust me."

"I miss him so much," Cleo sniffed. "I wish he would come back."

"Really?" Rikki looked at her friend in surprise. "You really want him back here?"

"I wish he hadn't done the things he did... but yes," Cleo admitted.

"Oh Cleo," Rikki sighed. "I feel so bad for you."

Cleo nodded slowly. "Thanks. For being here. It means a lot."

"Even though you argued with me like heck." Rikki pointed out.

"Yes. Even though I did that."

The two sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm stupid for wanting him back,"

Rikki sighed and looked at Cleo. "No you're not, Cleo. You're not the only one guilty of wishful thinking."

Cleo leant on Rikki's shoulder and leant out a long breath. "Thanks Rikki."

Rikki stared at the glistening water below their feet. "No problem."

* * *

Don Sertori frowned as his eldest daughter passed the through the kitchen to refill her glass with water.

"Cleo, is everything okay?"

Cleo turned around at the question. She leant against the counter, giving her fringe a nonchalant blow.

"No, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Don frowned and shook his head, returning to his daily newspaper which he had been denied the privilege of reading that morning. "Nothing, nothing," He murmured.

Cleo turned the tap off before her glass could spill over, and grabbed a straw from the back of the cupboard.

"Where's Kim today?" She asked casually while her head was still at the back of the cupboard.

"Out with a friend," Her father replied, peering at his daughter curiously over the top of his paper, but putting his head back before she could see him examining her.

Cleo backed out of the cupboard and took a sip of her drink. She smiled slyly. She knew her sister well enough to know that this 'friend' really meant 'boy', and her little sister had only said that to save her reputation as the apple of her father's eye.

"And Sam?"

"Called in at work."

Cleo nodded. Only her father and she were in the house. Cleo twirled a strand of her dark wavy hair around her finger absently, taking another sip of water. She walked out into the living room and plonked down on the couch, fiddling with her phone.

A light knock sounded at the door. Cleo wasn't going to get it, until her father's voice wafted out of the kitchen.

"Could you get that please, honey?"

Cleo stood up, dropping her phone on the couch. She walked over to the white door and opened it.

She stared open mouthed at the uninvited guest.

There Lewis stood, his hands in his pockets, teetering on his feet slightly.

"Hi Cleo," He said softly, with a hint of just how awkward the situation really was.

Cleo shoved him out of the doorway and slammed the door in his face.


	33. Chapter 33: Threats

"Please, Cleo? I just want to talk to you!"

Cleo leant against the door, panting heavily as Lewis yelled through it. After hearing his shouts for another three minutes, Cleo turned to the door and opened it a fraction.

"What do you want?"

"I just want to talk to you." He said, one bright blue eye peeking through the crack. "Please, Cleo?"

Seeing his hopeful face was too much. Cleo shut the door, locked it, and ran upstairs.

_The beach – the next day...__  
_  
Rikki raced up to Emma, who was calmly walking next to the water.

"Em!" She yelled, waving as she came closer.

"Yeah, Rikki?" Emma asked curiously. "What's up?"

"I thought we could chat about that last full moon," Rikki said.

Emma made a face. "I didn't think there was any more to talk about?"

"I did too, initially." Rikki explained, "But, when you were moonstruck..."

Emma cringed.

"... you said you saw a light."

"A light?" Emma asked, confused.

"Yup. You said it was beautiful."

Emma snorted with laughter. "_Beautiful?_ Geez, moonstruck mermaids really do say the weirdest things."

Rikki frowned. "No, you were really serious. And none of us could see it."

Emma frowned. "What?"

Rikki took a moment to get the words sorted out in her mind. "You were kind of... slipping in and out of being moonstruck. One moment you were lucid, and the next you were rambling." She explained.

Emma thought for a moment. "Huh. Now that you mention it, I do remember some parts... I remember you guys, we were in the moon pool..."

"Yes!" Rikki exclaimed happily. "We were in the moon pool nearly the whole time!"

Emma looked at Rikki with a weak smile.

"So, you do remember anything else? Anything about the thing you saw?" Rikki inquired.

The two walked over to a patch of boulders and sat down.

"Emma?" Rikki asked again.

Emma closed her eyes and focused hard. "Um..."

Rikki swung her legs off the boulder, whistling an extremely off key tune whilst she waited.

"I remember a shining light..." Rikki looked at Emma curiously. "It was... blue?" Emma looked at Rikki, cracking one eye open uncertainly.

"Okay; that's good."

Emma took a deep breath in and concentrated again. "It was a shining blue light..." Emma repeated.

"Uh huh," Rikki said, nodding.

Emma shook her head and massaged her temples.

Rikki placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "We can stop now if you want,"

Emma gave Rikki a weak smile. "That sounds good."

"Hey, you wanna go for a juice?" Rikki suggested. "My treat."

"Sure. That'd be great."

Rikk threw an arm around Emma and they started walking to the café, casually chatting about this and that.

The two walked into the café and Rikki bounded up to the counter. "What'll it be, Em?"

"Surprise me."

Rikki nodded and set to work on the other blonde's drink.

While the ingredients were colliding and swirling in the blender, Rikki popped her head around the office door.

"Hey Zane; what's up?" She asked casually.

Zane looked up from his computer. "Oh, hey." He said.

Rikki walked into the office and perched on the edge of the desk, leaning over to give Zane a kiss on the cheek.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

"Can't I be happy to see you?" Rikki retorted in an injured voice.

Zane smiled. "Of course you can,"

Rikki smiled back and kissed him. She waved and left the office, shutting the door tightly behind her.

She went over to the counter and turned the blender off, flipping the lid and pouring the drink into a cup. She watched as Emma took a sip of the smoothie.

"Urrgh! Rikki, what did you put in this?" Emma screeched, sliding the drink away in disgust.

Rikki grinned and shrugged. "You're the one who wanted a surprise."

* * *

Rikki sat in the office, doing paperwork and calculations. She mouthed a few figures and scrawled some numbers on a spare piece of paper. She rubbed her temples and sighed.

Zane popped his head around the door. "You okay?"

Rikki smiled weakly up at him, her blue eyes weary. "Yeah, I just hate paperwork." She said with a feeble laugh.

Zane nodded slowly. "Okay, if you think you can manage, I was just going to go check out that new fruit shipment." He said.

Rikki nodded and waved him away. "Yes. Now go on, you're too distracting."

Zane grinned and blew her a kiss before disappearing behind the wall.

Rikki suppressed a smile and returned to her work, tapping her pencil against the desk absently.

After twenty more minutes of absolutely no progress, Rikki was ready to tear her hair out. She picked up her pencil to stab at the paper, but stopped just before the graphite could make contact. _Okay. Calm down._ She thought, taking a deep breath through her nose and staring at the razor sharp pencil that threatened to destroy what little work she _had_ done. _Let's be rational about this._

She slowly set the pencil down, pushed the chair away from the desk and stood up shakily, her legs wobbly from being off solid ground for so long. She leant on the doorframe and peered out. The café was empty. _Slow day. Zane must have gone out already._ She thought, shrugging. She walked out into the empty café and went to prepare herself a drink. She poured the smoothie out of the blender and into a smoothie cup, and she heard quiet footsteps and the rustling of beads.

She looked up. "Welcome to Rikki's Café, how may I –"

Her voice caught in her throat. Rage filled her senses. She walked out from behind the counter and stared at the figure in front of her. The liquid in her cup bubbled and steamed until it there was nothing left, and the cup heated up so much she was forced to drop it.

At the searing pain shooting up her arm, Rikki blinked. She lunged at Lewis and pinned him against the wall, fire burning in her eyes.

"Rikki, Rikki," He choked, squirming against her grip.

"I swear I will burn you from the inside out," She spat, her voice venomous.

"Rikki, you're hurting –" Lewis tried to speak, but Rikki just tightened her grip on him, making him cry out.

"I'll kill you. How could you do this to Cleo?" She said, tears forming in her eyes. "She doesn't smile anymore. I just want to see her smile again. But _you_ took that away! _How_ could you do that? I thought you loved her!" Rikki accused, tears freely falling now.

"Rikki, you have to understand, I –"

"I don't care! Don't even try to explain yourself! This... this is unexplainable! I swear I'll..." Rikki raised her hand and started to clench her fingers.

"_Rikki! Stop it!_"

Bella's screech could be heard echoing throughout the café.

Bella ripped Rikki off Lewis, allowing the boy to breathe. Lewis gasped for air, rubbing his throat.

"Rikki!" Bella cried again, absolutely incredulous.

Rikki shook her head, dazed. _What did I just do? _She thought uncertainly. _Did I just... did I just do what I thought I did?_

Rikki barely noticed as Lewis looked at her, terrified, before running out of the café at top speed.

Bella turned to Rikki, looking at her with uncertain eyes. "Rikki, what just happened?"

Rikki looked at her hands, horrified tears burning in her eyes. "I... I just tried to kill Lewis."


	34. Chapter 34: Bargains

Rikki's phone startled her, and she raced over to it to silence the tone that was all too cheery for how she was feeling.

"Rikki, I have to tell you something." Cleo's anxious voice came through.

"Rikki, yesterday –"

"_Lewis is in town!_" Rikki exploded.

Stunned silence came over the line.

Eventually, Cleo spoke. "What? H-how did you know?"

"I mean, Cleo, I feel so bad," Rikki rambled; despite the fact that Cleo was quite ignorant that she had just tried to kill Lewis.

"What? Rikki, calm down." Cleo said soothingly.

"I mean, how could I do that? Am I really that horrible? I'm – I'm a monster!"

"Rikki, be_ quiet!_" Cleo screamed.

Rikki shut her mouth, silent.

"Now, tell me what's happened. _Calmly_ and _slowly._"

Rikki thought for a moment. "Meet me outside the café in fifteen minutes."

"Okay, but –"

Rikki had already disengaged the call.

She paced back and forth, having tossed her phone on the couch. She tugged at her hair, muttering under her breath.

She sat on the couch, her head in her hands, despairing. "What have I done?"

_Seventeen and a half minutes later..._

The girls murmured in low voices at the front of the café.

"I can't believe I did that!" Rikki wailed, "I'm such an awful human being!"

Emma wrapped a comforting arm around her friend; she knew how rare it was for Rikki to be plagued by a guilty conscience.

"It's okay, Rikki; you were angry." She said soothingly.

"But I wasn't just angry!" Rikki exclaimed, "I really was ready to burn him from the inside out!" She buried her head in Emma's shoulder, feeling unable to face the world right now.

"I know I say that a lot," She mumbled into Emma's shoulder. "But I never mean it. I never mean it literally. But I really was ready to hurt him like that."

The girls crowded around their despairing friend, trying to comfort her; but to no avail.

At that moment, as Rikki was mumbling into Emma's shoulder, Lewis ran up to them.

The girls stood there, shocked, until they finally registered what was happening. The three stood in front of Rikki defensively, not knowing what utter despair she would work herself into if she saw him.

"Lewis, what do you want?" Emma said, her eyes shooting flames.

"I want you guys to at least acknowledge me again," He said.

"No way!" Cleo piped up from next to Emma, then shrank back at Lewis's gaze.

"Please? Come on! I've helped you with your secret all these years!"

"Yeah, and then you stab us in the back when we're not looking!" Bella shouted angrily. Everyone looked at her; no one had expected such an outburst from the usually calm girl.

"Please, guys?"

"Lewis, the answer is and always will be, no." Emma said firmly.

Lewis looked at the group and sighed. He walked away, looking at Cleo for several seconds before doing so.

The group turned around to Rikki to see that she had buried her face in her arms and was murmuring inconsolably.

Cleo hugged her friend and petted her blond curls. "Shh, it's okay..." She said soothingly.

Rikki took comfort in hiding away in the crook of Cleo's shoulder.

"Okay, first, we have something things to talk about..." She mumbled, her voice muffled but just loud enough for the group to hear.

"And what is that?" Bella asked curiously.

"That weird light Emma saw while moonstruck," Rikki sniffed, "I think it's more important than it seems."

"And why is that?" Emma asked, frowning.

Rikki finally retreated out of Cleo's shoulder, "It's just a feeling," She said.

"Okay, what do we know about this light?" Bella asked, deciding to play along with Rikki's "feeling".

"It was blue and shiny..." Emma said.

"Like the light on Mako Island?" Cleo piped up curiously.

"I... I wouldn't know..." Emma murmured.

"Could be." Rikki mused.

Meanwhile, Lewis had come back after a while, intending on imploring his ex-friends about his initiation back into the group once more, and had been listening for about the last five minutes.

"Blue light?" He asked, coming up behind them.

"Lewis, what are you doing here?" Emma snapped.

"Could I hear more about this blue light?" He asked curiously.

The girls exchanged looks.

"It's blue and shiny. That's all," Emma said as a brief explanation, not wanting to talk to Lewis any more than absolutely necessary.

"Hmmm." He said, thinking.

"Lewis, you need to leave." Bella spoke up.

"Please? I had to do what I did," He said as a futile excuse.

"Why?" All four girls said in unison; even Rikki, though her voice did come out rather sniffly.

Lewis shut his mouth. He grimaced. "I..." He bit his lip. "Can't tell you."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Uh huh."

The girls went back to conversing, but this strange light had them dumbstruck.

"I'll help you!" Lewis finally shouted over the voices, after having watched them for ten minutes.

The girls turned to them, their puzzlement openly displayed on their faces.

"You'll what?" Emma asked.

"I'll help you. I help you find out what this blue light is." He repeated.

The girls were still unsure, but Rikki stepped up.

"Yes. Yes you can." She said firmly. The girls gaped at her. But she had reasoning behind her statement. _This blue light may actually be dangerous. It caused Emma to nearly walk off a cliff for goodness sakes!_ She shuddered at the memory. _If Lewis can prevent that from happening again, I say we take him for all he's got!_

Lewis smiled happily. "Thank you. I promise I won't let you down." He raced away to go do who knows what, while the girls continued gaping at her.

She stared blankly at them. "What?"

"Rikki!" Emma hissed. "How could you do that? This is Lewis we're talking about!"

"Yes, but this light may be dangerous." She pointed at Emma, who stared at her, dumbfounded. "It nearly killed you. And," She shrugged. "If the light on Mako Island is any connection, well, that thing knocked us unconscious and scattered us across the beach." She looked at her friends seriously. "And I nearly killed the guy; I think he deserves a chance to plead his case."

The girls gaped at her again. No one had expected Rikki to be the voice of reason.

* * *

Rikki moped around the café all day, and Zane had no idea what was wrong – she wouldn't tell him.

"Rikki, really, what's up?" He asked for the seventh time that day.

"Nothing," Again, was the muttered reply.

Zane sighed and dropped the tray he was carrying on the tile floor.

Rikki jumped back, exclaiming, "What the heck!"

"Good, you're awake!" Zane said sarcastically, picking up that tray and placing it with the others.

He walked up to Rikki and looked her up and down. "Now please, tell me what's wrong."

To Zane's surprise, Rikki wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. Zane frowned concernedly, petting her blond hair.

"What's wrong?" He asked, now very concerned.

"I think I nearly killed someone,"

"What? Who?"

"Lewis," She choked out.

"Shh, it's okay, I'm sure everything's fine," He said soothingly, rubbing her back.

Rikki just shook her head and hugged Zane tighter.

Zane took Rikki into the office so she could explain. "Now, tell me what happened." He said gently.

Rikki leant on his shoulder and let out a long sigh. "I was so angry at what he did to Cleo... and I just... I didn't know what I was doing. Luckily Bella got there before I could do any real damage." She buried her head in her hands.

Zane wrapped his arms around Rikki and leant his head against hers. "Hey. It's okay,"

Rikki looked up at him and managed a weak smile. "Thank you,"

_Early the next day..._

Lewis knocked on Emma's door eagerly.

Emma answered it with an unimpressed face. "Oh? We're on house call terms now?" She said sarcastically.

Lewis rolled his eyes. "I know I'm not your favourite person right now, but –"

"But nothing." Emma interrupted him. "You are, without a doubt, my _least_ favourite person. You're almost detestable, really." Emma said, twirling a strand of her blond hair.

Lewis frowned. "I just –"

"Nope. You're helping with this light thing and that's it, Lewis. No further communication." She said.

"But –"

"_At all._"

Lewis frowned and walked away. Whenever he turned, the fierce glower of Emma made him think better.

_A few hours later..._

Rikki was sitting at a table outside the café – it was her break.

"Rikki!"

Rikki ignored Lewis completely as he jubilantly sat down next to her – except for the slightest grimace.

Seeing that he wasn't going to go away, Rikki gave her fringe an indignant blow and turned to him. "Yes, Lewis?" She asked, annoyed.

"I need more information about this weirdo blue light thing," He said, dumping his bag on the concrete.

Rikki rolled her eyes. _He probably came to me because it's obvious I'm the one who cares the most about it, _she thought.

"So, you gonna tell me?"

Rikki frowned. She still felt really bad for nearly vaporising the guy – and if she could do something to make amends, she was going to do it.

"I think it came out of the blue stones around our necks," Rikki said, not remembering all that much and not wanting to really talk to Lewis out of loyalty to Cleo.

"Uh huh," Lewis said as he wrote something down in a blue notebook.

"And that's it." Rikki said with a shrug.

Lewis frowned. "That's it?"

"Yeah, I don't actually remember all that much so..."

Lewis nodded and stuffed his notebook in his bag quickly. "Uh, right, of course."

"Goodbye, Lewis."

Lewis got up and stood awkwardly in front of her. "Bye Rikki."

But as Lewis walked away, Rikki didn't see someone deceitful and manipulative. She just saw a boy who wanted his friends back.

* * *

Cleo smiled, weaving around an outcrop of coral. Everything had been so stressful lately; she needed something relaxing to take her mind off things.

She surfaced in the moon pool, taking in a breath of air that she didn't really need. She leant on the ledge and swished her tail in the water. She heard footsteps come from the land entrance, and she looked up curiously.

Rikki walked in, her light blonde hair in a plait down her shoulders.

"Hi Rikki!" Cleo said cheerily, waving her fin in the water.

"Hi Cle..." Rikki slipped on one of the wet rocks of the pool and fell into the water.

Cleo giggled as her friend surfaced, wiping the wet hair out of her eyes. After a moment to compose herself, Rikki sat against the ledge and swished her tail up and down. "So, how _are_ you?"

"Can't really complain," Cleo shrugged, looking at her golden tail shimmer with water droplets.

"How are you dealing with this whole Lewis thing?"

Cleo made a face. "I think I'm dealing alright."

"Good." Rikki smiled. She had been doing some thinking since the whole incident the day before, and Zane had helped her a lot, she felt she was doing much better now – or at least she wasn't a nervous wreck.

"Why aren't you at the café?" Cleo asked curiously.

Rikki grinned sheepishly. "I was freaking the customers out," She admitted.

Cleo raised her eyebrows but said nothing further.

"I'll race you back to the mainland?"

Cleo looked at her friend questioningly. "But we only just got here?"

"Or you're afraid I'll beat you!" Rikki teased.

Cleo rolled her eyes and lowered herself further into the water. "You are so on."

Rikki grinned. "Eat my bubbles!" She said and ducked under the water.

Cleo rolled her eyes and swam after her.

There had been no doubt of who would win, but that didn't stop Rikki from gloating once they got their legs back.

"A turtle could have beaten you!" She teased.

"Uh huh, says the girl who, no matter what she likes to believe, is and always will be bested by her best friend."

This shut Rikki up.

The two walked through the entrance to the café to see Emma yelling at Ash.

"I don't _care_ what you think!" She screeched, grabbing her jacket and storming to the exit.

"I wish you were dead!" She screamed over her shoulder as she pushed past Rikki and Cleo and ran out.

The two girls looked at each other.

"What was _that_ all about?" Cleo asked as they ran up to Ash.

"Never mind," He muttered and stomped out of the café.

Rikki and Cleo walked over to Bella and Will, who had been watching with wide eyes.

"What happened?" Rikki asked.

Bella threw her hands up in the air. "I – I don't know!" She said, "All I know is that when Emma saw Ash in the café they immediately started screaming at each other!"

Will frowned. "Well, she told me she had a fight with him... but I don't know it was this bad..." He mumbled.

Rikki and Cleo turned to him, gaping. "She told _you _about a fight with Ash instead of _us?_" Rikki asked in an injured tone.

Will just shrugged. "She was crying and I asked her what was wrong."

Rikki raised an eyebrow. "She wouldn't tell you."

Will smiled sheepishly. "Okay, I kinda forced it out of her..."

"Oh! So that's why you were all so troubled in the moon pool that day!" Bella exclaimed, happy with this answer.

"Yeah. Basically." Will lied. He knew he had to tell them about his dreams, and he was going to – if he didn't, he knew Emma would pound him until he did – but he just wanted a little time to sort it out for himself. But he planned to tell them tomorrow.

Will stuck his hands in his pockets and teetered on his feet slightly. "So, what's happening with you guys?" He said, trying to change the subject because he knew Emma wouldn't want her relationship to be the topic of conversation.

"Lewis is back in town," Rikki mumbled, still stuck on Emma and Ash's fight.

"_What?_" Will screamed; he knew how much trouble Lewis was currently causing the group – mainly Cleo – and he wished he would either go away or go down on his knees and beg for forgiveness. Not that doing that would work.

"Yeah; he's really annoying." Bella commented.

"Oh come on," Will turned to her. "You knew about this and didn't tell me?"

"Sorry," Bella flushed, "It must have slipped my mind."

"It's alright," He said, wrapping an arm around her.

Bella snuggled into Will, smiling. "Any more trouble with Lewis?" She murmured to her friends.

"Not really," Rikki replied, "He's just popping up here and there; you know, being his usual annoying self,"

Bella nodded and walked out hand and hand with Will, grabbing their to-go juices.

* * *

The four mermaids sat on the beach, soaking up the sun.

"This is the life," Rikki sighed.

"Yeah; except we grow tails at the drop of water; we all have nosy families; there are crazy marine biologists around every corner..." Emma said, ticking off the issues on her fingers.

"Yeah, but we get to swim on the reefs while boring old humans can't!" Rikki cheered.

"Rikki's being an optimist? Oh my word, we must be in a parallel universe!" Bella giggled.

"Oh shut up you weirdo," Rikki said, grinning and shoving the other blonde in the shoulder.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "And what precisely is weird about me?"

"Lets see, you're boy obsessed; your positive outlook on life is good at times, but absolutely sickening at others... oh! And you're not human!" Rikki laughed.

"You aren't either you doofus," Cleo called, grinning.

"Yeah, but she's been one longer. All of her human cells are most likely corrupted! I bet there's none left!" Rikki joked.

"It doesn't work that way, if you'd ever actually listen for once..." Emma chided, "Our cells are mostly normal until on contact with water. It's _then_ everything goes to chaos." She recited with her pointer finger in the air.

"Yeah, that's the thing," Rikki said, "Mostly! But there's that little bit that'll always be different... oh! Have I just stumbled upon how awesome we are?" She laughed.

"Ever heard of modesty?" Bella giggled.

"M – what?" Rikki asked, sounding out the letter. "Sorry; totally foreign."

"You never learn, do you?" Emma groaned, shaking her head.

"Yeah. That's me; untameable." Rikki grinned back.

"Y'know, when you were being taught about emotions you must've been asleep. I mean, humility, shame, appreciation, enthusiasm, gratitude, patience; you just don't have them." Bella laughed.

"Oh no; pride, she has a lot of that," Cleo put in.

"And self-pity."

"And self-admiration."

"And self-confidence."

"Wow, those are a lot of self words,"

"Okay, I get it!" Rikki yelled, interrupting her friends' comments. "I'm not the best person in the world," She grumbled.

"Hey," Emma said, nudging her side, "We were just joking."

Rikki rolled her eyes. "I know. And I am pretty awesome," She said happily.

"There's the self-admiration again..." Cleo muttered.

Rikki rolled her eyes. "Now who can't take a joke!" She called.

At that moment, Lewis came running up to them, panting – it looked like he'd been running for a while.

"Cleo can't take joke?" He asked, "I've heard that before."

Cleo glared at him.

"What are you doing here, Lewis?" Emma asked in an annoyed tone; very much speaking for the group, telling by their expressions.

"I was gonna talk to you about that blue light... I've already talked to Rikki about it..." Rikki flushed under the immediate attention she was given. "And I wanted to see of you guys remembered anymore." He plopped down between Rikki and Bella – much to their chagrin – pretending like he was a part of the group again.

"Well, you see, I've been the thinking about that..." All eyes turned to Emma. "Maybe we shouldn't." She finished.

Rikki opened her mouth. She did want someone to figure this whole conundrum out, but she looked at Cleo. _I know how hard she's struggling with seeing Lewis again, even if she says she fine_, she thought. _Maybe we really shouldn't get his help._

"I think maybe you're right," Rikki spoke up.

Lewis frowned. "What? Why?" He asked in a hurt tone.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Get this into your head," She said, standing up. "We don't _want_ you here, Lewis. If your plans are to worm your way back into the group, you can just forget about helping us and be on your way." She said.

She felt a little bad, she usually wasn't that mean, but it had to be done. If Lewis was going to hurt them like that – hurt _Cleo_ like that – and then expect everything to be fine – well, it just wasn't going to happen.

The girls went back to talking, keeping a wary eye on Lewis – and it was going to be like that until he left.

"So Rikki, how are you and Zane doing?" Cleo asked curiously.

"Meh."

Lewis cleared his throat. "I have a proposition," He said.

The girls turned to him with unimpressed faces.

"And what is this proposition?" Emma asked, taking charge.

"I'll help you with this blue light..." All the girls glared at him and prepared to turn him down. "And that's it. I'll only help with the blue light, I'll only ask about that, nothing else." He swallowed. "No further communication." He said gravely.

The girls looked at each other and talked it over.

"I think it's a pretty good proposition," Rikki said with a shrug. "Let's face it; we really do need some help with this thing."

"Hmmm." Emma said, thinking it over.

The girls turned back to Lewis.

"You're just helping us with the blue light?" Emma repeated cautiously, "And that's it? You won't try to get back into the group?"

Lewis shook his was solemnly. "No." He made a crossing motion across his heart. "I promise."

Emma looked at her friends and nodded. She walked towards Lewis and and shook his hand. "I looks like we have a deal,"

She quickly snatched her hand out of his grip and went back to sit with her friends. She glared at him.

"Now get off our beach."


End file.
